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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26729125">A Wordless Song</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/NikiFrost/pseuds/NikiFrost'>NikiFrost</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supergirl (TV 2015)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AU, Brainia - Freeform, Dansen - Freeform, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Meet-Cute, Romantic Fluff, Sign Language, Supercorp endgame, handywoman!Kara, mute!Kara</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 09:21:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>25,439</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26729125</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/NikiFrost/pseuds/NikiFrost</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Supercorp AU: Leaving her manipulative and infamous family behind, Lena Luthor escapes to the quaint little town of Midvale to live in a cabin that once belonged to her biological mother. In need of a handyman for far too many repairs, she hires a recommended local. Enter Kara Danvers, a gentle soul who hasn't spoken a word since she lost her parents at a young age, yet hums the most beautiful wordless songs that will turn Lena's life upside down.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>106</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>885</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Supercorp Big Bang 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27064567">POSTER - "A wordless song"</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/mizhuin/pseuds/mizhuin">mizhuin</a>.
        </li>
        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27216370">A Wordless Song (Art)</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lesbionest/pseuds/Lesbionest">Lesbionest</a>.
        </li>

    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Many thanks to the mods for organizing and hosting this SuperCorp Big Bang; here's to many more years to come! And of course, all my love to Lesbionest and Mizhuin for their AMAZING artwork. I feel so insanely lucky to have been able to work with these two as my artists, and I'm still fawning over how soft and beautiful their works are! Please make sure to head over to their art posts to give them some well deserved kudos and comments! ♥</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Are you sure you don't need me down there?"</p><p>"Absolutely. I'll be fine, Sam. You and Jack already have your hands full with L-Corp. I hope you know how much I appreciate this."</p><p>"Hey, whatever you need, we've always got your back, Lena."</p><p>Fingers drumming softly on the wheel, Lena smiles, feeling the tension drain from her shoulders for the first time in a while. The unpaved road is a little bumpy and uneven, kicking up a thin beige dust behind her as her sleek black Mercedes picks its way past the small town of Midvale towards a somewhat isolated cabin on its own plot of land. Her mother's cabin—her <em>biological</em> mother. A little something Aoife Kieran had secretly left to Lena in her will as a final <em>fuck you</em> to Lionel Luthor after he'd tossed her aside and blackmailed her for sole custody. </p><p>Lena barely remembers her biological mother except for a few fuzzy memories of warm hugs and the smell of freshly baked cookies, everything else replaced by the cold and clinical childhood of growing up in the Luthor mansion with Lillian as a... step-mother, of sorts, if barely that. Lex has always ping-ponged between caring half-brother and coldly estranged for all the years that she'd known him, before he landed himself in prison for bombing his own laboratory and killing multiple employees in a last ditch attempt to hide his illegal human tests, and Lillian only resented Lena <em>more</em> after Lionel died and left LuthorCorp and his entire fortune to his beloved—albeit illegitimate—daughter.</p><p>Honestly, she's surprised it took her this long to leave. Bless Sam and Jack for taking over as co-CEOs of L-Corp, allowing her the ability to act as a distant Chairwoman, only stepping in when her advice is needed.</p><p>"I'm just pulling up now. Thank you again, Sam... I'll text you tonight after I've settled in. Give Ruby and Jack a hug and kiss for me?"</p><p>"Yes to the hugs, but Jack's not getting a kiss." There's a distant and muffled <em>'Rude!'</em> in the background to the familiar sound of Jack's accented lilt, followed by Sam's warm laughter. "Talk to you later, babe."</p><p>Ending the call with her best friend, Lena double checks the number on the mailbox by the road before turning up onto the long gravel driveway, easing to a stop next to the large cabin so that there's plenty of room in the main driveway for the moving truck later. She's early as planned, and eagerly fishes out a worn key from her pocket, thumb rubbing over the initials engraved into it. A.K. on one side, for her mother Aoife, and L.K. on the other, for Lena Kieran.</p><p>The cabin is a large and spacious one-floor home, its exterior a gorgeous design of dark logs and tall floor-to-ceiling windows, filling the entire place with as much natural light as possible. Mossy green tiles make up the gable roof, and the front door is wide and tall, its lovingly worn wood with faded red paint seeming to beckon her inside, like a wardrobe door to Narnia. Her key slides silently into place, turning the lock with a soft <em>click.</em></p><p>"I'm home, Mum," she says softly, pushing the door open and stepping across the threshold.</p><p>The open space design is simplistic and homey. A wide living room takes up the main area with a giant U-shaped couch setup, the worn brown leather of the couch cracked and well loved. The kitchen is off to the side with a tall island and high chairs, a small dining table tucked into the corner. A sectional fireplace and log walls covered in framed photographs split the cabin in half, the bedroom and bathrooms hidden beyond. It's barely familiar, present in flashes of memories from her early childhood. Lena stands there for a moment, soaking it all in, her eyes soft as she takes in the musky home, long untouched after her mother passed away many years ago. Her eyes linger on the kitchen, imagining a flash of dark red hair, of a wide, toothy smile, of hot trays with melting chocolate chips on oatmeal cookies. Aoife had stayed here alone after Lena had been taken from her. It was the one thing Lionel had allowed, after forbidding her from ever stepping foot into National City or getting anywhere near his family.</p><p>This was the closest Aoife could get to her, and now Lena is finally home.</p><p>Swallowing down the lump in her throat, Lena steps past the fireplace and down the short hall, peering into the small study, the spacious bathroom with its lacquered wooden walls and massive tub, and then the master bedroom at the end, taking in the patchy quilt still neatly spread over the queen sized bed, the photographs on the walls and the antique dresser in the corner. Everything is warm and well-loved and rich with her mother's memories, and Lena wishes for the millionth time that she could have grown up here instead, that she could have had Aoife's unconditional love instead of Lillian's cold resentment.</p><p>After bringing in her purse and laptop bag from her car, Lena spends a half hour more thoroughly going over the cabin, checking locks and lightbulbs and making a list of things that will need to be updated or repaired. The property has sat locked and empty for years without care or maintenance, leaving much to be desired. Still, those are issues for another day, as the moving truck comes rumbling up the gravel driveway shortly in the afternoon and Lena brisky goes out to greet them and direct them as to where each item gets placed. By the time the movers are done and driving off into the evening sun, she's hungry and tired with no desire to do last minute grocery shopping or to cook her own meal. Quickly pulling on the first warm coat she can find in a box of packed clothing, she makes the short drive down into town, seeking out hot food and perhaps another much needed dose of caffeine.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"A salad? No, wait. Grilled salmon. Kale smoothie?"</p><p>Nia laughs as her blonde friend scrunches up her face, insistently pointing at the picture of a burger on the menu and squinting her eyes suspiciously.</p><p>"You're too easy to rile up, Kara, you know that?" she snickers, taking the plastic menu away with a grin. "Brainy's already got your usual going. Sit tight."</p><p>Kara sticks out her tongue, tapping her hand to her chin in a playful insult that has Nia disappearing into the back kitchen with a cackle. Next to her at the counter, her sister Alex rolls her eyes, pushing her empty plate away and sipping at her coffee.</p><p>"One of these days, that black hole in your stomach is gonna disappear and you'll end up on my table with clogged arteries," she sighs, looking unimpressed as Kara grins at her.</p><p><em>Not in your lifetime,</em> Kara signs cheerfully, giving her flat stomach a firm slap. She hops up off her stool as Nia returns, a white takeout bag in hand with <em>Dreamer's</em> emblazoned on the side in its usual bright neon design. Jerking a thumb at Alex, Kara signs, <em>Put it on her tab.</em></p><p>"Rude," Alex says, at the same time Nia chuckles and says, "Sure thing."</p><p>With a takeout bag and a bottle of rootbeer in hand, Kara kisses Alex's cheek and waves Nia goodbye, scurrying out of the diner and zipping off across the street, blonde ponytail swishing behind her.</p><p>"What's got her in a hurry? Big job?" Nia asks, grabbing the coffee pot to refill Alex's cup. Alex runs a hand through her red-auburn hair and snorts in amusement.</p><p>"Not even. Winn's building some sort of retro arcade game and roped Kara into building the cabinet. They've been working nonstop on it since last week."</p><p>"Ah. That explains Brainy spewing nonsense into the phone for three hours straight last night," Nia chuckles, earning an indignant squint from her boyfriend through the kitchen serving window. "Another late shift tonight?"</p><p>"Yeah. Mills and Swan left early for maternity leave, so my mom needs the extra hands. Actually, can you get me two of my usual espresso mixes to go?"</p><p>"I know your bloodstream is probably ninety percent coffee, doc, but that much caffeine can't be good for anyone."</p><p>"It's not all for me," Alex insists, the barest hint of pink on her cheeks. Nia lifts a brow in intrigue.</p><p>"Oh? Would the second drink possibly be for a certain beautiful psychologist you went on a coffee date with?"</p><p>"I reserve the right to remain silent," Alex deadpans. Nia smirks.</p><p>"Two super duper espresso frappuccinos comin' right up."</p><p>She turns away, getting to work on the excessively caffeinated drinks while Alex counts out a few bills and flattens them on the bartop. The bell over the door chimes and she glances over her shoulder, a polite smile ready. You don't live in Midvale your whole life and not know pretty much everyone by face, if not by name. The young woman who steps into the diner is surprisingly familiar, but not because she's a Midvale local.</p><p>Eyebrows rising, Alex turns away quickly before her staring is noticed, taking a moment to rein in her surprise at the appearance of Lena Luthor. No one else seems to notice or care, which is to be expected; Midvale is idyllic and <em>isolated,</em> and that's the way it's always liked to be. Alex prefers to stay in the loop, however, receiving daily news updates on her phone about the world around them, and so she can't help but frown with suspicion when the infamous youngest Luthor approaches the counter next to her.</p><p>"Hi! I'll be with you in just a moment," Nia chirps, smiling pleasantly as she sets both drinks into a drink tray and brings them over to Alex. "Here you go, two heart attacks in a cup. Tell Kelly I said hi."</p><p>"Will do," Alex murmurs, slowly rising from her stool with the tray in hand. She turns away just as Nia greets the newcomer, pretending to be distracted by something on her phone so that she can slow-walk towards the door.</p><p>"What can I get you?" Nia asks, a curious smile on her face as she takes in the slightly befuddled brunette in a fashionable double breasted long coat. The young woman tucks long hair behind her ear, quickly glancing at the menu board on the wall behind Nia and then smiling a kind, albeit hesitant smile.</p><p>"I just wanted to order some dinner and coffee to go, if that's alright."</p><p>"Of course! Take a seat, I'll get you the full menu to look over."</p><p>"Thank you," she murmurs, gently perching on a stool as Nia grabs a plastic menu to hand over. Alex chances one more glance back, getting a curious look from Nia, before finally heading out the door, the door chime announcing her departure.</p><p>Shoulders sagging with relief, Lena gives the menu a full readover, glad that the redhead is gone. She'd felt her lingering presence and her wary glances, and knew that at least one person in this little town recognized her. No doubt because of the family legacy she'd left behind.</p><p>"So, what brings you to Midvale?" the girl behind the counter asks, sliding a mug of hot coffee towards her. Lena blinks, fingers tapping restlessly on the menu for a moment as she debates her answer. </p><p>"A fresh start," she says eventually, offering a tentative smile. "I needed to get away from a bad family situation."</p><p>Understatement of the year, but she assumes word will get around town in a small place like this, and she'd rather start off with some sympathetic souls on her side rather than have them looking into her background for the full story. God knows National City had never bothered to remember that she'd had no <em>choice</em> in being a Luthor. She takes a mouthful of the fresh coffee and relishes in the hot bitterness as it rolls over her tongue.</p><p>"Well, you picked a good place for it," the girl offers after a momentary look of sympathy. "Midvale is its own little family. I'm Nia."</p><p>She holds out her hand, smiling sweetly, and Lena takes it with a sigh of relief. "Lena."</p><p>"Brainy, come say hi to Lena, she's new to town!" Nia calls towards the kitchen window. A moment later and a face appears there, boyish and awkward, his lengthy hair pulled back into a tiny ponytail under a net. He blinks at her and lifts up a spatula in a semblance of a wave.</p><p>"Hello."</p><p>"Hi," Lena replies, bemused. He glances down at the menu in front of her.</p><p>"I recommend the Shepherd's Pie."</p><p>"That sounds lovely. I'll have one of those."</p><p>He nods, disappearing out of sight. Nia grins. "That's my boyfriend Querl, but we all call him Brainy. He cooks here part time, works at the repair shop part time. He's a little awkward around strangers, but if you ever need help with any kind of tech, he's your guy."</p><p>Lena nods, pursing her lips in thought. She doesn't need to hire anyone for tech; she's a genius, after all. But there's plenty of updates and repairs to the cabin that she'd rather not do herself, and it's not like she hasn't inherited a fortune. It never hurts to put money into the local economy.</p><p>"Actually, there's a lot of work that needs to be done around my cabin. Carpentry, mainly, but some pipe work and renovations, too. Do you have a recommended local here I could call in the morning?"</p><p>"Oh! Yeah! I know just the person for you!" Nia grins, pulling out her little notebook and pen, scribbling out a name and number before ripping it off and passing it to Lena. "Shoot her a text, she can get just about anything done for you. She's a good friend of mine, just tell her I sent you."</p><p>Nia winks, friendly, and Lena finds herself feeling surprisingly comfortable in the girl's welcoming presence. The scrap of paper has the number of one <em>Kara Danvers,</em> and Lena quickly tucks it away into her pocket for safekeeping.</p><p>"Thank you. This is really helpful."</p><p>"Not a problem." Nia waves it off with a smile. "Where abouts are you, anyway? Did you move into one of those cute new townhouses they built over by the park?"</p><p>"Oh, no. My mother used to live here, just a short drive out of town. A few acres of land with a cabin. I've moved in there."</p><p>Nia's eyebrows jump up. "No way! The Kieran property? That place has been empty for years. Beautiful spot, though. Kara's been dreaming about all the ways she'd like to fix it up."</p><p>"Has she?" Lena inquires, amused.</p><p>"Oh, yeah. It's been her dream home ever since she started thinking about moving out on her own. She'd hoped it would go on the market. Guess she'll have to settle for renovating it for you," Nia laughs, turning away to grab Lena's food when Brainy taps the little serving bell. She bags the takeout box and brings it to Lena, along with a large takeout cup of coffee. "That'll be eight dollars and fifty cents, please."</p><p>"That's it?" Lena asks, surprised, her wallet half open in hand. She hadn't looked at the prices on the menu, but the generous serving portion of the shepherd's pie—with a large side of veggies, no less—could probably feed her thrice over. Not to mention the extra large to-go cup of coffee Nia had given her. "That takeaway box looks huge."</p><p>"Small town prices," Nia shrugs. "I guess you're from the big city?"</p><p>"Something like that." Smiling wryly, Lena hands over a twenty dollar bill. "Keep the rest."</p><p>Nia's eyes go wide. "Wha— seriously? I can't. It's more than your bill—"</p><p>"Really, keep it," Lena says softly, standing up with her takeout and coffee in hand. "Have a good evening, Nia. Thank you for your help."</p><p>She leaves, smiling and waving briefly over her shoulder and leaving a floundering Nia at the counter. With a steaming hot takeout box and a strong coffee safely settled in her car, she makes the drive back out of town, looking forward to curling up on her mother's couch and having her first meal in her new home before unpacking.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"<em>Augh.</em> This is too perfect. I don't know how you do it, supergirl." Winn nearly wiggles with delight as he fits his machinery through the back of the arcade cabinet Kara has built, his lips stretched into a permanent smile of awe and excitement. Kara's not one to boast, but she will admit that this <em>is</em> one of her best works. The cabinet is a perfect recreation of a classic arcade system, except the smoothly sanded panels are decorated with gorgeous custom artwork from a local artist, depicting a menagerie of famous video game characters in retro style. Above the monitor is a carved and lacquered marquee to match the custom mahogany joysticks she'd crafted to replace the old plastic ones on the control panel Winn had salvaged.</p><p><em>Think it'll be ready to play tonight?</em> she signs with her free hand, taking another large bite out of her burger with a barely audible but happy hum. Winn had paused what he'd been doing to watch her for a reply, his head tilting as he smiles warmly at the rare sound.</p><p>"Um, I'm brilliant, remember? Of course it'll be ready to go," he grins, turning back to his work as he adjusts the panels and starts connecting the proper circuitry. After a moment, he leans out from behind the cabinet again to see her. "What time is Alex gonna be home? She's gonna be so pissed if we don't let her have a go."</p><p><em>She's doing an overnighter at the hospital with Eliza,</em> Kara smiles wryly, sympathy in her eyes. Her adoptive mother and sister have been running on fumes, looking even more exhausted than usual all week in the scant hours that she sees them at home. <em>They're short staffed and their replacements aren't due in until next week.</em></p><p>"Lame." He dusts his hands together after another half an hour of focused silence, leaving the back of the cabinet uncovered for now as he pads across Kara's small workshop in the Danvers backyard to grab an extension cable, hooking it up to the power supply. The monitor flickers to life, bright colors welcoming them to the nostalgic sight of a retro gaming menu. Winn had collected a ton of popular classics and turned it into an all-in-one gaming system, and Kara eagerly crumples up her empty takeout bag and tosses it into a bin to join Winn at the cabinet.</p><p>"<em>Hell</em> yes," he says, pumping his fist in the air as it seems to be working properly. "Hey, you got some finished chairs we can sit on while we make our way through this legendary collection? I love a classic cabinet, but I am <em>not</em> standing on my feet all night."</p><p>Kara snorts, pointing to the far wall where a bunch of her finished furniture pieces are lined up, either commissions waiting to be picked up, or random pieces she'd made on a whim to be sold at a later date. She grabs the backboard she'd crafted and quickly screws it into place on the back of the cabinet while Winn glances the furniture over and pulls over two matching bar stools, briefly admiring the polished maple. "Ooh, these are nice. Did M'gann order them for the bar?"</p><p>Kara perches on one, already using the joystick to scroll through the available games while absently nodding 'yes.' Her eyes light up when she finds the original <em>Pac Man.</em></p><p><em>Bet I'll get the high score,</em> Kara smirks.</p><p>"Oh, you're on," Winn challenges, rubbing his hands together gleefully.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Lena's up and out the door first thing in the morning, intent on getting the cabin stocked with food and essentials before she does anything else. After hitting up the local grocery, she drops by the diner again to grab an omelette and coffee to go, making pleasant conversation with Nia before driving home. The pantry and fridge are filled, the bathroom equipped with supplies, and her stomach full when she finally picks up her phone, adding the number Nia had given her to her contacts list and then punching the 'call' button.</p><p>It rings once before going abruptly to voicemail, indicating that her call has been rejected. Frowning, she stares down expectantly at her phone, assuming the woman will text her back with an explanation. Sure enough, ten seconds later a text arrives.</p><p>
  <em>Hi! This is Kara Danvers. I can't speak on the phone, please text me if you have a job that needs doing and I'll get back to you ASAP to discuss. :)</em>
</p><p>Lena sighs, vaguely annoyed. It's so much faster and simpler to talk on the phone. Text messages are easily misunderstood. Still, this woman was Nia's recommendation, so she's willing to withhold judgement and go along with this for now.</p><p>
  <em>Hello. My name is Lena, Nia from Dreamer's Diner gave me your number. I've just moved here and my cabin needs a lot of repairs and renovation work done. Are you available to come take a look at the place and give me a quote?</em>
</p><p>She's about to stand and get a kettle going for some tea when her phone buzzes with another text. At least Kara Danvers is quick to respond.</p><p>
  <em>Of course! I'm available anytime. Just tell me a time and date that works for you and I'll be right over!</em>
</p><p>Well, no time like the present. Lena suggests noon and sends her the address. She's immediately bombarded with a picture of a shocked Pikachu, followed by multiple surprised emoji faces and exclamation points.</p><p>
  <em>No way! I love that cabin! I've always wanted to see the inside!!! Be there at noon! :)</em>
</p><p>Somewhat amused by this mystery handywoman's response, Lena shakes her head and goes about making some tea, pushing open the window over the kitchen sink to let in some fresh air. The clean, earthy scent of the woods bordering her property drifts in, coaxing her body to relax from the rigid stance Lillian had beat into her as a child.</p><p>This is going to be good for her, she reminds herself gently, peering out her window to the front of the cabin where her black Mercedes is tucked off to the side of the gravel driveway, now dusted with pine needles from the tall trees looming above. The sun is warm and bright out, offset by a cool breeze that rustles the woods and sends pinecones dropping to the ground with soft patters and thuds. A chipmunk scurries across the gravel driveway, chased off by a large squirrel that stops and sits, staring curiously towards the cabin while chewing away at a walnut. Lena smiles, watching it munch for a few minutes before it finally grows bored of her and scampers away.</p><p>When noon finally rolls around, the sound of a large truck comes rumbling up the driveway, gravel crunching under large tires moving at a surprisingly polite pace. Lena's never been a fan of trucks at all, hating the sound of them roaring by at obscene speeds driven by equally loud men, but the handywoman rolls up leisurely and parks a little ways back from the cabin, cutting off the engine and hopping out to walk the rest of the way. There's a giant, fluffy white dog padding along at her heels, and Lena hurries to greet them at the door, delighted at the prospect of petting a furry friend. Lillian had never allowed her any pets, but she's always loved dogs and will always go out of her way to pet one if she can.</p><p>"Hi, Kara? It's nice to meet you," she greets warmly as soon as the door is open, offering up her most welcoming smile. And, dear lord, Kara Danvers is <em>gorgeous,</em> tall and lean with muscle in her fitted jeans and soft red-white henley, her thick blonde mane tucked under a blue baseball cap. If Sam were here, Lena's sure her best friend would be wiggling her eyebrows and shooting her an encouraging thumbs up. As is, Lena clears her throat and thrusts out her hand, intent on making a good first impression on this pretty handywoman that dear sweet Nia has sent her way.</p><p>
  <em>Midvale, I like you already.</em>
</p><p>Kara smiles shyly, less rambunctious than her text messages had suggested, and snaps her fingers at her side, causing the big white dog to sit down with a loll of his tongue as she takes Lena's hand in a gentle shake and waves hello with the other. Somewhat baffled by the silent greeting, Lena waits as Kara pulls out a cellphone from her back pocket and wakes the screen before passing it over.</p><p>
  <em>It's nice to meet you! I can't speak and will communicate through my phone, but I can hear just fine, so please speak to me as you would normally. :)</em>
</p><p>Lena blinks down at the message on the screen for a moment, suddenly feeling guilty for her earlier annoyance at having her call rejected. She wonders <em>why</em> Kara can't speak, of course, but that's most definitely not a polite question, so she offers her a flustered smile instead.</p><p>"Oh, of course. Thank you so much for coming today. Um, I— can I pet your dog?" She'd planned on getting right to business, but that giant fluffy face peering up at her is impossible to resist, and it's been <em>far</em> too long since she's pet a puppy. Kara just grins and nods, quickly tapping out a new message on her phone.</p><p>
  <em>His name is Krypto and he's super friendly!</em>
</p><p>Crouching down, Lena holds out her open palms and beams as Krypto steps towards her, licking at her hands and sniffing his way up her arms until he can bump his large head against her shoulder. She gives him a good ruffle, fingers gently scratching around his head and neck and then smoothing down his shoulders. He looks like a Great Pyrenees, maybe, about as tall as Kara's hips and with thick, cream-white fur.</p><p>"Hello, Krypto. You're such a handsome boy," she coos, stroking over his big floppy ears as he pants softly, smiling at her with his big brown eyes. Not wanting to seem entirely unprofessional, Lena stands back up after one last pat, pushing the door open all the way and gesturing inside. "Please come in."</p><p>Kara and Krypto step into the entryway, the dog staying obediently next to his owner as Kara's mouth drops open, her eyes greedily drinking in the interior of the cabin with awe.</p><p>"Would you like a tour first?" Lena offers, delighting in the way Kara blushes profusely and nods. The blonde toes off her sneakers at the entryway and motions for Krypto to sit and stay, eagerly following after Lena as the brunette shows her the home. The cabin is large, certainly, mostly open space with high ceilings, and Kara stares up at the wooden beams and examines the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the backyard with great interest. She gestures excitedly past the windows, seemingly taken by the soft slope of grass that leads down towards the pond, and Lena can't help but smile at the other woman's childlike enthusiasm.</p><p>"It is lovely, isn't it? I thought adding a deck would be nice, eventually. Maybe even a little gazebo next to the woods."</p><p>Kara nods excitedly at the idea, deep dimples appearing on both cheeks as she smiles, and Lena vows to commission her to make <em>everything</em> just so she can keep seeing that cute smile.</p><p>
  <em>Get it together, you useless lesbian. She's probably straight and just happy to have work.</em>
</p><p>She shows Kara the rest of the cabin, and then they go over everything a second time with Lena pointing out all the things that need repairs or updates, as well as things she'd like completely renovated. Kara adds to a list she's typing out on her phone, nodding and smiling or sometimes typing out questions, and eventually shows Lena a message that she just needs a couple minutes to tally out the material and labor costs of everything.</p><p>"Of course. Why don't I make us both a cup of coffee in the meantime? Do you drink coffee?"</p><p>Kara nods, so Lena goes about plugging in her Keurig machine and brewing two fresh cups. She finds a large mixing bowl in one of the cupboards and fills it with cool water for Krypto, setting it down on the kitchen tile and clapping her hands for the dog's attention. He tilts his head at her, still obediently sitting by the front door, and glances at Kara first. When the blonde snaps her fingers in a <em>come here</em> gesture, he approaches and happily sticks his face into the giant bowl.</p><p>"Would you like any cream or sugar?" Lena asks, bringing the two cups to the little dining table where Kara is doing calculations on her phone. Kara nods, smiling in appreciation, so Lena brings both, watching in amusement as the blonde dumps three heaping spoonfuls of sugar and a large helping of cream into her coffee, mixing it into an almost beige, sugary sweet concoction one would expect to get at a Starbucks. When Kara takes a sip and gives a happy little sigh, Lena can't help but melt slightly, utterly endeared by the other woman.</p><p>
  <em>Damn it, she's adorable.</em>
</p><p>Kara seems to sense her staring, flushing prettily as she sets her cup down and returns to typing on her phone. After another minute or so of companionable silence, save for the occasional slurping sound of Krypto drinking from his bowl, she slides her phone across the table with a shy smile. Lena quickly looks it over, surprised at how... <em>not</em> expensive it is. She's asking for a lot of work done. Kara's estimated costs for materials is minimum, and her labor costs are painfully low. Lena vaguely understands that the cost of living out here in little Midvale isn't high, and everything is locally produced and thus not being resold for more than it's worth, but compared to what she's used to paying in National City, this is staggering.</p><p>"Kara, I can't possibly pay you this little for all the work you're going to be doing," she says, frowning as she looks back up. The blonde's face is pink and she looks uncomfortable at the thought of charging more, her head shaking slightly as if to shrug off the idea. "No, this is far too low. I paid contractors much more for far less work in the city."</p><p>Lena picks up the phone, erasing Kara's total price and doubling it. Ironically, even that much is pocket change to a Luthor heiress, but Lena knows raising it much more would probably upset the humble blonde. Still, she's always believed in paying people properly for their time and efforts, especially artists and laborers, and she's not going to let Kara get away with charging the bare minimum wage.</p><p>"Here," she says, handing the phone back and watching as Kara's eyes boggle. They're a bright baby blue, like that of the sky on a warm spring day. Lena nearly drowns in them as she meets Kara's shocked stare. "Please don't fight me on this. I want to pay you fairly for your time."</p><p>Kara's mouth opens and closes a few times, hands flailing a little as her eyes bounce between her phone and Lena. Lena chuckles, reaching out to grab a flailing hand and watching as Kara immediately goes still, ears and cheeks turning red.</p><p>"Bring Krypto every day and let me play with him in the yard, and we'll call it even," she offers, smirking. Krypto gives a deep '<em>wuff'</em> sound as if in agreement, his tail thumping heavily on the kitchen tile. Kara eyes the both of them with narrowed eyes for a moment, then slowly nods in acquiescence, sighing dramatically. Releasing her hand, Lena leans back in her seat with a laugh, crinkles showing themselves at the corners of her eyes. "Excellent."</p><p>Kara snatches her phone, tapping out a message and then sliding it across the table. <em>Fine, you win. But I'm not taking the labor cost until after the work is done! How do you know I'll even do a good job?</em></p><p>Lena glances up at Kara's challenging stare and the sassy tilt of her brow and promptly smirks, unable to pass up the chance to flirt, even if her chances are probably zero. "I get the feeling you're <em>very</em> skilled at what you do, Miss Danvers."</p><p>What little sass Kara had disappears immediately when she blushes hot red again, eyes flickering around to look at literally anything but Lena. Deciding to show some mercy, Lena relaxes back into her seat and sips at her coffee.</p><p>"I work from home, so I'll be here pretty much all the time. When do you think you'll be ready to get started?"</p><p>
  <em>I'll have to pick up some materials for some of this stuff and have the rest ordered in, but my toolbox is in my truck. I can go over all the piping in the house and check that everything's tight and up to date right now if you'd like.</em>
</p><p>Lena nods, handing the phone back. "That works. Perhaps Krypto can keep me company in the meantime?"</p><p>Kara nods, her dimples showing as she smiles lopsidedly. Finishing off her coffee, she stands and heads out the front door, motioning at Krypto with an open palm to stay in the cabin. Heading over to the large U-shaped couch in the center of the open living room, Lena tucks herself into the corner and clicks her tongue, patting the cushions encouragingly. Krypto doesn't hesitate to bound over to her with his tail wagging, stepping up onto the couch and flopping down heavily to rest his big head on her lap. The leather of the couch creaks under his weight, reminding her of its age, but Lena loves it too much to consider replacing it with something newer. It was her mother's, after all.</p><p>Kara comes back after a minute, toolbox in hand, and she pauses to smile at the sight of Lena happily squashed beneath the giant fluffy Pyrenees, cooing quietly to the beast as she strokes the fur around his face. Leaving them to it, she starts in the kitchen, checking over all the pipes and connections for the sink and tightening anything that looks to have gotten loose over the years, then heads off for the bathroom and the small laundry room. There's a small leak with the washing machine that she patches and cleans up, and the bathroom needs some TLC, but an hour later she deems the cabin to be fully functional. Taking her toolbox back outside, she makes a quick walkaround of the cabin, examining the roof and every window before heading back inside.</p><p><em>Where is the furnace and hot water tank located?</em> she types out, holding her phone out to Lena as the brunette has ended up half reclined against the couch, Krypto partially on top of her with his chin resting on her chest. Lucky dog.</p><p>"Oh, that's a good question. I hadn't actually thought about that. Up please, Krypto." With a dramatic huff, he moves away to allow Lena to get up, casually brushing white fur off the front of her shirt as she moves around the couch to join Kara. "I think there's a door down to the basement. I hadn't actually gone down to check."</p><p>Leaving Krypto sprawled out on the couch, she leads Kara down the short hall back to the little laundry room, where another narrow door blends partially into the wall. Opening it, both women peer down the little stairwell into the darkness below.</p><p>Kara blinks wide eyes at her, uncertain. Lena grimaces.</p><p>"I'll grab a flashlight."</p><p>Lena finds a small flashlight from the junk drawer by the kitchen, and after a wordless exchange in which Lena holds up the light and Kara gives her a puppy dog stare, Lena turns it on and leads the way down. The steps are wooden and creaky, and worst: <em>narrow.</em> One hand trails along the wall, more wooden supports and beams than actual plaster, and she holds her breath as she descends, worried she'll miss a step and fall. Thankfully she makes it to the bottom safely, Kara close behind, and proceeds to swing the flashlight around trying to search for some sort of lightsource. There's none that she can see; no wall switches, no breaker panel aside from the one up in the laundry room. There's a single pull chain hanging in the center of the room, attached to what looks like an old school ceiling bulb, but a few tugs and useless clicks later, they both surmise the bulb is dead.</p><p>"Well, this isn't creepy at all. I promise I didn't bring you down here to murder you," Lena sighs, grimacing. Somewhere in the darkness behind her, Kara laughs, her laughter coming out as little huffy exhales of amusement. A hand touches her shoulder and Lena momentarily jumps before realizing Kara is just trying to get the flashlight from her. Handing it over with an embarrassed smile, she follows the blonde as Kara locates the furnace and hot water tank, checking both over and wiping layers of dust off the gauges to make sure everything is running as it should. Aoife's lawyer had someone come by to turn everything on after having dropped off the house key with Lena a few days ago, but clearly they'd not bothered to check anything else. Lena's just glad nothing exploded before she had a professional look everything over.</p><p>Straightening back up and slapping her dusty hand against her jean-clad thighs, Kara smiles at Lena in the darkness, tilting her head towards the staircase to indicate that they could go back upstairs. She angles the flashlight at the bottom steps and allows Lena to go up first, though about halfway up, Lena hears the <em>thunk!</em> of Kara stumbling and catching herself on the steps, her face bright red when their eyes meet.</p><p>"Are you okay?" Lena asks, concerned. Kara just nods rapidly, waving away her worries with an embarrassed grin. They both visibly relax once they're out of the basement, the door firmly shut behind them. Krypto lifts his head and wags his tail when they reappear in the main room.</p><p>"Well, I officially have a murder basement," Lena says after a moment, chuckling. The little puffs of laughter from Kara are worth the dry attempt at a joke.</p><p><em>I'll bring a new lightbulb for it tomorrow,</em> Kara types out, smiling. Then, momentarily backtracking, she adds, <em>Is tomorrow okay? I can pick up the stuff I need in the morning and come over to start at about 10?</em></p><p>"That works perfectly," Lena agrees, warming at the thought of getting to see Kara again so soon. She doubts anything more than friendship is in the cards, but for someone who's had very few true friends in her entire life, Lena is willing to take whatever she can get.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Stampeding footsteps and the excited barking of a giant dog is all the warning Winn gets before his best friend suddenly bursts into his flat, all wide blue eyes and flailing hands as she chucks a wrapped meatball sandwich in his direction.</p><p>"Whoa! Hey! Where's the fire?" Fumbling to catch the peace offering, he tosses aside his controller and gaming headset, abandoning his TV as Kara flops down dramatically onto the couch next to him, dumping her own sandwich onto the coffee table before rapidly speaking in sign language. Winn raises his eyebrows, struggling to keep up as she moves almost too quickly for him to comprehend. He gets the gist of it, sort of. He catches the signs for 'woman,' 'beautiful,' and 'oh no' amidst the flurry of hand movements.</p><p>"Kara, slow down!" he laughs, waiting until she drops her hands on her lap with a huff. "At a human pace, please. I'm good but I'm not <em>that</em> good."</p><p>He unwraps his sandwich, happily taking a big bite out of it as Kara takes a breath and starts over, still signing on the fast side but slow enough for him to translate in his head.</p><p>
  <em>I just got a HUGE job. A woman moved into the old Kieran property and hired me to fix and renovate it. Her name is Lena and she's so BEAUTIFUL. WHAT DO I DO?</em>
</p><p>Her gestures are bigger and more dramatic than required to express emotion in ASL, and Winn can only snicker as Kara reverts to gay panicking on the couch, something she'd managed to hold in all day and only release once she was safely away from the cabin.</p><p>"What do you mean what do you do? You do your job and enjoy the free eye candy while you're there," he chuckles, not seeing the problem. Granted, his best friend is absolutely <em>hopeless</em> when it comes to pretty women, but surely it doesn't call for this much panicking.</p><p><em>I think she was FLIRTING with me,</em> Kara signs, wide-eyed, her expression a mixture of hopefulness and sheer terror. Winn gives a dramatic sigh as he drops a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head gravely.</p><p>"Kara, <em>sweetheart,"</em> he drawls, "when a beautiful woman flirts with you, you're supposed to flirt back."</p><p>Kara's shoulders droop, her frantic energy subdued just as quickly as it had come, and a furrow makes itself prominent on her brow as she frowns.</p><p>
  <em>Easy for you to say. I have to awkwardly type everything out when I want to talk to her.</em>
</p><p>Grimacing in sympathy, Winn sets his sandwich down and takes her hands with a squeeze. Connecting with new people has always been tough for Kara; her family and closest friends are all quite fluent in ASL now, but aside from that, the most she interacts with the rest of Midvale is with polite nods and smiles and the occasional wave of a hand. Not many locals, even people she sees on a daily basis in the streets, have bothered to learn the language, and so romance has always been on the backburner for the youngest Danvers, her work the sole focus of her life.</p><p>"Hey, keep an open mind, Kara. It's been a while since we've had anyone new in town. If she made the effort to flirt with you, maybe she's worth sending awkward flirty text messages to, huh?"</p><p>He winks, grinning his boyish lopsided grin, and Kara offers up a wry smile, thankful for her ever-positive best friend. Behind them, the door to the flat pops open again, Winn's roommate lumbering in and hesitating at the sight of the giant dog laying next to the couch.</p><p>"Hey, James," Winn greets, he and Kara both giving a little wave while Krypto turns his head away, ignoring the man. James nods his hello, expression bland as he carefully sets down his camera bags on the dining table. Kara turns her attention to her sandwich, glad for any excuse to not engage. Their friend group has been pretty much the same band of people for years, give or take the occasional romantic partner joining or leaving, and Kara had always gotten along relatively well with James. That was until just last year when he'd finally convinced her to go out on a single date with him, after which she'd come to the conclusion that she had absolutely no interest in men and had politely told him that she wanted to remain friends. He'd been hurt about it at first, more 'wounded' than he really had any right to be when she'd only conceded to a single date and nothing more. He spent the better part of a month acting as if he'd been dumped from a committed relationship, huffing about it so often that even Winn—who'd had his own <em>"why won't you date me"</em> phase years ago before Kara had knocked some sense into him—finally put his foot down and told James to grow up and get over it.</p><p>Nowadays, he's just a vaguely distant and awkward "friend" that she exchanges stilted conversation with when necessary, and Kara wishes he'd just go through with his supposed plans of moving to Metropolis to work for the Daily Planet. God knows he whines about it enough to drive them all mad.</p><p>"What're you two up to?" James asks, opening the fridge to grab himself a beer. Kara takes another large bite of her sandwich, letting Winn do all the talking.</p><p>"Just hanging out," Winn says, propping his feet up on the coffee table. "Did you know that someone just moved into the Kieran property? Kara's doing renovations for them."</p><p>"Oh, no way. That place is gorgeous," James sighs, envious. "I got some great nature shots out there back when it was empty. Lots of wildlife in that area. Who moved in?"</p><p>"It was Lena-something?" Winn glances at Kara to confirm. She pulls up her contact info for Lena and flashes the screen at him so he can see. "Lena Luthor."</p><p>"You can't be serious."</p><p>They both look up then, startled by the sharpness of his voice. His lip is curled with disdain and he's squared his shoulders to make himself seem bigger, more intimidating.</p><p>"What?" Winn asks, exasperated by James' tendency to puff up like a 'big strong man' at the slightest provocation.</p><p>"She's a <em>Luthor,</em>" James spits, as if either of them have ever paid any attention to the world outside of Midvale. "Her parents built up an empire on dirty money, and her brother's practically a terrorist. She's bad news, and she does <em>not</em> belong in Midvale."</p><p>"Seeing as she owns the property, I'd say she's here whether you like it or not," Winn snorts. James sets his hands on his hips and sets his gaze on Kara.</p><p>"You can't work for her."</p><p><em>Here we go,</em> Kara thinks with a roll of her eyes. Even back when they were decent friends, she'd hated this side of him; the macho protective man who always thought he knew what was best for others and had no issue saying so. She's even less tolerant of it now that she no longer considers him much of a friend at all.</p><p><em>I work for whoever I want,</em> she signs at him, scowling.</p><p>"Kara, you don't know what she's like!"</p><p>
  <em>And you do?</em>
</p><p>"I know her type. She's manipulative and dangerous, you can't trust her—"</p><p><em>I can decide for myself who I trust,</em> Kara starts to sign, annoyed, but James is already going off on his righteous speech, very obviously not even reading her sign language. Frustrated, she throws up her hands in defeat, unable to shout over him to be heard.</p><p>"Dude, that's enough," Winn snaps, a rare moment of genuine anger clouding his features as he sits up and glares at his roommate. "Don't talk over her like that."</p><p>Their friend group has always been very conscious about never disrespecting Kara by using her handicap against her, and James finally catches on to his faux pas, clearing his throat and dropping his head for a moment before nodding, his jaw working in frustration.</p><p>"You're right, I'm sorry. That was disrespectful," he says stiffly, hands still on his hips, his tall posture suggesting he's really only apologizing because Winn has called him out. Kara knows better than to expect anything more sincere, so she just nods back, accepting the disingenuous apology for what it is. "I'm only saying this as a concerned friend, Kara. She's not a good person. You don't want to be around her kind."</p><p><em>I don't discriminate based on gossip,</em> Kara signs, slowly and clearly, making sure he's watching her hands. <em>You don't know her. She's kind to me. I'm still working for her.</em></p><p>He works his jaw and shakes his head, grabbing his things and disappearing into his room with a sigh of frustration. Winn squeezes her shoulder as she sinks back down into the couch.</p><p>"Ignore him, you know how he gets," he says with a wry grimace. Kara shrugs, unbothered.</p><p>
  <em>Krypto loves her, and you know he's the best judge of character.</em>
</p><p>She doesn't point out that Krypto has always hated James. Winn just laughs. "That he is."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>L.L.:</strong> Sam </p><p><strong>L.L.: </strong>Sam help</p><p><strong>SamArias: </strong>what?? what's wrong??</p><p><strong>L.L.:</strong> My new handywoman is adorable</p><p><strong>SamArias: </strong>... what's the problem?</p><p><strong>L.L.:</strong> I don't know if she's gay</p><p><strong>SamArias: </strong>oh my god you useless lesbian</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kara arrives at exactly ten on the dot, looking eager and prepared in a pair of denim overalls only half buckled overtop a worn NCU T-shirt. Krypto bounds up to smear himself against Lena's hip as soon as the door is opened, getting a happy laugh out of the brunette as she ruffles his fur.</p><p>"You went to NCU?" she questions in lieu of a greeting, cocking a brow at the shy-smiling blonde. Kara whips out her phone to type up a reply.</p><p>
  <em>Oh, no. It's my sister's, she went there for her MD/PhD. I almost went too, but I found my dream job here.</em>
</p><p>"As a handywoman?" Lena blurts out with a crinkle of her brow, trying not to sound judgemental. All jobs are essential, but she doesn't see how doing laborious repair work could be a young woman's <em>dream job.</em> Kara just puffs out a laugh, rubbing at the back of her neck as she shakes her head, smiling wryly.</p><p>
  <em>I make furniture. I've got a workshop out back at the Danvers' place. Not always the most lucrative work in a small town, but I love it nonetheless.</em>
</p><p>That, Lena can understand. She smiles softly at the twinkle of genuine pride in Kara's blue eyes. "That sounds lovely. I'd like to see your work sometime. Perhaps buy a few pieces for the cabin."</p><p>Kara nods, cheeks pink as she beams, and then holds up a couple plastic bags of supplies she'd picked up from the local hardware store. Lena quickly moves out of the doorway, inviting them inside.</p><p>"Would you like a coffee?" Lena asks, unable to resist playing host, even if Kara is technically here as an employee. Kara smiles, nodding politely, and Lena glides towards the kitchen with Krypto hot on her heels, the giant pup not even waiting for Kara's signal this time. Chuckling under her breath, Kara shakes her head and follows, gently setting her things down on the island counter as the brunette fiddles with the Keurig. Krypto practically sits on Lena's feet, tail thudding on the floor as he stares up adoringly at her.</p><p><em>You lovestruck traitor,</em> Kara teasingly signs at her dog despite him paying no attention to her. Lena turns her head in time to see the tail end of Kara's moving hands and pauses, her brows drawing together.</p><p>"Oh, I'm sorry— I don't understand sign language. Were you trying to signal to me?"</p><p>Kara flushes, shaking her head quickly and waving it off like a joke. She's not about to admit to using sign language at her dog. Lena just smiles, bemused.</p><p>After coffee, Kara ends up spending a solid three hours just updating and tweaking small things around the house; replacing uneven hinges and screws, oiling squeaky doors, replacing all the old lightbulbs with new energy saving LED bulbs. She gives the drains of the sinks and tub a thorough cleaning, and starts taking measurements in the bathroom for where Lena wants the outdated bathroom closet knocked down to make room for a modern glass shower. They discuss Lena's plans to replace the laundry machines with newer water-saving models, as well as adding a space for a dishwasher in the kitchen. The wall above the mantle in the open space living room is measured to be fitted with a new flat screen, for as much as Lena wants to preserve the most important of her mother's things, she honestly cannot bring herself to keep the ugly little old school television sitting on a worn wooden stand. An antenna wouldn't have looked out of place on top of it.</p><p>They have lunch together, Kara scarfing down the two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches she'd packed, Lena with a homemade turkey sandwich. Kara has a collapsible dog bowl that she pops out, emptying a large baggie of kibble into it and then setting it down on the kitchen linoleum for Krypto to shove his snout into. She and Lena sit sipping sweet tea while Krypto munches away, exchanging relaxed conversation with Kara's phone sliding back and forth across the table between them.</p><p>
  <em>It's been pretty busy for them. I haven't actually seen them since the day before; Eliza and Alex both probably just slept at the hospital.</em>
</p><p>"I didn't know Midvale's hospital could get so busy. But I suppose losing two doctors at once can put quite the dent in scheduling."</p><p>Kara nods, smiling lopsidedly as she slides her phone back over. <em>Yeah, but doctor Swan went into labor early, and doctor Mills was adamant about being by her wife's side 24/7 for at least the first two months. It's really sweet. And as soon as their replacements get here next week, it'll be a lot less chaotic for the hospital.</em></p><p>Lena pauses, rereading the message on the screen before blinking up at Kara. "Oh. Doctor Mills and Swan are both women?"</p><p>Kara nods, enthusiastic. <em>Yeah! They're really great. I've met them a few times when I go in to visit Eliza and Alex.</em></p><p>The blonde smiles warmly at the thought, and Lena feels the beginnings of hope flowering in her chest. Maybe, just maybe. "That's wonderful. I wasn't sure if a small town like Midvale was... open minded, about that kind of thing."</p><p>
  <em>Oh, of course! Midvale is very welcoming and inclusive. My sister Alex is a lesbian, she's just started dating Kelly, one of the psychologists at the hospital. A good friend of mine is transgender. We even have a small pride parade every year going down Main Street.</em>
</p><p>"I'm glad to hear it," Lena says with a relieved smile, eyes soft as she takes in Kara's proud grin. Kara hasn't said anything about herself, however, so Lena keeps her own orientation quiet, as of yet unsure if she should out herself to her new friend.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>A week later, Lena's new modern glass shower is coming along nicely, the old bathroom closet demolished and everything cleaned up in preparation for the renovation. Kara had even gone to great lengths to find floor tiles that matched the bathroom's original flooring, trying to preserve the warm brown stone tile, and decidedly adding it to the interior wall of the shower as well, contrasting nicely with the two glass walls.</p><p>"Kara," Lena calls softly, appearing in the doorway as Kara cleans up the tile backsplash. The blonde leans out from within the shower, a smudge of dried grout on her cheek. "That Thai curry place doesn't do delivery, so I'm just going to run out and pick up our lunch. Is there anything else you'd like me to grab while I'm out?"</p><p>Kara shakes her head in the negative, an appreciative smile stretching her lips. They'd started making lunch together here, after Lena had pursed her lips on the third day straight of watching Kara eat homemade PB&amp;J sandwiches. Lena had then somehow convinced Kara to let her buy them lunch on occasion, Dreamer's burgers on one day and Chinese takeout on another. As much as Kara blushes and fidgets shyly at being spoiled, Lena can see how genuinely the blonde appreciates being taken care of, and so she's made it her mission to pamper her new friend as much as she can get away with.</p><p>"Alright, I'll be back soon. Krypto's just asleep on the couch." Lena smiles, disappearing back down the hall after seeing Kara wave a cheerful 'see you later.' After she hears the front door open and shut, Kara loses herself in her work, carefully adding grout between each tile and gently sponging away the excess, pleased with the aesthetic she and Lena had agreed upon for the shower's backsplash. Eventually, in the tranquil peace of the cabin, she starts to hum very quietly, just a low sound that turns soft and melodic as she settles into a soothing tune.</p><p>Lena returns about twenty minutes later, cruising slowly down the driveway and gently shutting the door as she heads up to the cabin, takeout bags in one hand as she absently scrolls through her phone on the other. She'd left the cabin door unlocked, and so doesn't need to mess with her house keys as she quietly enters her home and nudges her heels off at the entrance mat. She debates calling for Kara from here, but stops when she hears it; a soft humming, the tune pretty and gentle, perhaps even a little bit sad. She's briefly reminded of her mother, remembers the soothing way Aoife would hum her to sleep as a child, and her heart clenches at the memory.</p><p>Very quietly placing the takeout bags on the kitchen island, Lena tiptoes down the hall to the bathroom, drawn closer like a sailor lulled by a siren. The tune is almost haunting in its softness, coated in a melancholy that is not hers and yet strangely familiar all the same. She stops in the doorway, gazing in at where Kara is focused on wiping the tiles clean, and can't help but just listen, enchanted.</p><p>It takes a full minute for Kara to turn her head enough to see her out of the corner of her eye.</p><p>The humming stops abruptly, throat closing up in both surprise and brief alarm at not being alone, and Kara visibly jumps in place, dropping the large sponge she'd been using and gawking out at Lena with wide blue eyes.</p><p>"I'm sorry!" Lena says quickly, immediately feeling guilty. "I didn't mean to scare you like that. You... You sounded so lovely, I couldn't help but listen."</p><p>She doesn't ask why— doesn't inquire as to how Kara can be both mute and yet still use her vocal chords to hum aloud. It's none of her business, and Lena knows better than anyone that some things are too personal to ask about. Kara's shoulders slowly sink down from their tense position and she smiles, a shy and thankful smile as she gingerly steps out from the shower and places her things down, popping a lid over the bucket of grout and washing her hands in the sink. She takes great care to clean away the dried grout from under her nails, so Lena pads back out to the kitchen first to grab plates and utensils, opening the takeout containers and setting everything out on the small dining table. Krypto rolls off the couch with a <em>thud,</em> scampering over with his tongue lolling at all the delicious, spicy scents wafting from the kitchen, and Lena chuckles and gently nudges his snout aside when he tries to ninja his way into one of the takeout containers.</p><p>"I promise you, you aren't going to be nearly this excited when you have red curry burning your tongue," Lena teases, taking a seat and letting the big dog rest his head on her thighs, large pleading eyes blinking innocently up at her. She smooths down the fur atop his head, gently scratching behind his ears. "It's spicy, you won't like it. It's for your own good, silly boy. No, don't look at me like that..."</p><p>She's still cooing softly to Krypto when Kara enters the kitchen, the blonde grinning and relishing in the warmth sitting deep in her chest, an ever-growing affection for the brunette that only gets stronger every day. Lena lifts her head to smile up at her, teeth bright against fading red lipstick, and Kara marvels at how Lena always lines her eyes and colors her lips even though she really only ever sees Kara. (Or is it <em>because</em> she sees Kara that she does it? One can only hope.)</p><p>"Hope you've worked up an appetite," Lena teases, motioning to the table, and Kara sits down with her eyes wide and her jaw dropped, nearly salivating at the two large containers of curry, both red and green, and the many side dishes Lena had ordered for them. There's coconut rice and shrimp cakes, Pad King stir-fry with beef and prawns, deep fried wontons and a box full of mango sticky rice topped with a deep fried banana for dessert.</p><p>Kara flails, quickly pats herself down to search for her phone, <em>can't</em> find her phone, and then flails a little more, her expression that of a gleeful child being presented with a massive cake on their birthday.</p><p>"Dig in," Lena chuckles, forking some stir-fry onto her plate. Kara eagerly complies, piling her plate high with some of everything, carefully adding red curry onto half her rice and green curry onto the other half, her tongue poking out between her lips in concentration. Her wholehearted dedication to enjoying food is utterly endearing, and Lena can't stop beaming at the blonde, all soft eyes and softer smile, a lovestruck fool in the making.</p><p>Kara doesn't hum again that day, but from then on, Lena sometimes hears the softest little melodies floating through the cabin when Kara doesn't think she's paying attention.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"I'm so <em>tired,"</em> Alex whines, slumping into the house at eight o'clock, nearly moaning with relief when she can smell dinner. It's nothing fancy, just mac and cheese, but Kara's stirring it in the pot when Alex shuffles her way into the kitchen, sniffing like a wolf on the hunt. Krypto has her beat, however, already sitting on top of Kara's feet, head tipped to the sky as if hoping his beloved owner might somehow drop some cheesy goodness into his waiting mouth. Kara loves him, but not enough to deal with a lactose intolerant and therefore <em>gassy</em> bear of a dog if she dares to feed him cheese.</p><p><em>Figured you'd be hungry,</em> Kara teases, swatting Alex's hand away when the redhead actually tries to stick her finger into the pot. <em>Grab a bowl, you heathen. Where's Eliza?</em></p><p>"Finishing up with paperwork. Said she'd be home in another hour." Alex pulls a bowl from the shelf and scurries back to Kara's side, leaning gratefully against her sister when Kara fills it with large, heaping spoonfuls. All but collapsing onto a stool at the kitchen island and ignoring Krypto's envious stare, she scarfs it down, barely pausing for breath and only stopping once to moan something about how much she's missed the taste of cheese. The bowl is nearly scraped empty, and then she's holding it out towards Kara with both hands, mimicking Oliver Twist as she wheedles, "Please sir, may I have some more?"</p><p>Rolling her eyes in affection, Kara takes the bowl and refills it, sliding it across the counter and watching her sister dig in a little more slowly this time around, savoring every spoonful of cheesy macaroni with a hum. <em>Long week, huh?</em></p><p>"You have no idea," Alex groans. She'd showered and changed at the hospital before leaving, and so feels relatively clean and presentable, but her entire body aches with exhaustion and she cannot wait to collapse in her bed after she's finished eating. "Don't get me wrong, I was excited to finally meet baby Swan-Mills, but did he really have to come a week and a half early? Does he realize how hard it is to get replacements last minute?"</p><p>Sitting across from her sister, Kara just grins. <em>They had a baby boy?</em></p><p>"Mmhmm. Named him Henry. Cute lil' guy. I could feel my biological clock ticking just looking at him."</p><p>Alex has always had a strong desire to experience pregnancy and mother children, so it doesn't surprise Kara that her sister sounds vaguely envious of her fellow doctors. As Alex's relationship with Kelly is still so new, however, she refrains from suggesting anything, trusting Alex to bring that conversation up with Kelly when the time is right.</p><p>"What've you been up to all week, anyway?" Alex asks between mouthfuls, forgoing table manners in lieu of catching up with her sister while stuffing her face. "You were usually out of the house whenever I came by to shower and sleep."</p><p><em>New job. A </em>huge <em>job. I've been renovating the cabin out on the Kieran property!</em></p><p>"No kidding. Someone finally moved in?" Like most in Midvale, Alex remembers the cabin with vague fondness. There had been a lovely Irish woman who lived there many years ago before unexpectedly passing away; sweet but shy, she'd kept to herself and only ever went into town for supplies, but she'd had a warm smile and was very kind to the local children, Alex included. She thinks the woman might have had a small child of her own, but it was so long ago, she hardly remembers it correctly. Kara, being a few years younger, hadn't remembered the woman who had lived there at all.</p><p><em>Her name is Lena. She's really nice. We've become friends,</em> Kara gushes with a wide, pleased smile, her cheeks taking on a healthy flush of color as she thinks of the beautiful brunette with the lonely eyes and gentle smile. She spies it on rare occasions, when Lena is distracted or simply sitting quietly on the couch with Krypto on her lap, her eyes distant and her mind elsewhere. Kara doesn't think they're close enough for her to ask why just yet, but if showing up and bringing Krypto every day helps the loneliness to recede, she is happy to do it.</p><p>"Lena?" Alex sputters, swallowing down her mouthful with a wince as she lowers her fork. Kara hesitates, sees that same wall of mistrust come crashing down in Alex's eyes like it had in James', and straightens up as if preparing for an argument. "Lena Luthor?"</p><p><em>Yes, that Lena Luthor. And don't say it. James already tried to </em>forbid <em>me from going. She is my friend.</em> She signs the word 'friend' with sharp, decisive movements, signaling that it's not up for debate. Alex's jaw goes slack in surprise; she's never seen Kara this defensive about anyone before. <em>I know her. She's a kind person.</em></p><p>"Okay, okay," Alex says slowly, holding up her hands in surrender. She doesn't want to get into it with her sister. Kara's an adult and she trusts her, even if she doesn't trust Lena Luthor. "Just... be careful. She's not just a big city girl. Her family is bad news."</p><p><em>She doesn't like to talk about her family,</em> Kara signs after a moment of contemplation, deciding that's harmless information to share. <em>Nia said she came here to get away from a bad family situation. Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance? A fresh start?</em></p><p>"You're right, she does," Alex concedes grudgingly, sighing. The one time she'd seen Lena at the diner, the younger woman had seemed quiet and polite. Certainly not the vicious boogeyman the media paints all the Luthors to be. Maybe she really is just looking to escape her family. Alex supposes she can't blame her for that. "Alright. Benefit of the doubt and all that."</p><p>Kara pumps her fist in the air, victorious and all too pleased, and Alex just stuffs another mouthful of mac and cheese into her mouth in silence. She has never seen Kara this excited about another person in her entire life, and she can only hope and pray that this doesn't end in heartbreak for her younger sister. Kara's been through enough to last a lifetime.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Kara's knocking out a cabinet in the kitchen to make room for a new dishwasher when she learns that Lena literally doesn't have any friends in Midvale except for her and Nia. </p><p><em>Seriously??</em> Kara types, looking skeptical and adorably concerned, a little furrow making itself prominent between her brows. Lena laughs, resisting the urge to smooth it away with her thumb, instead propping her chin up on her hands while Kara pauses her work to huff at her.</p><p>"Well, I don't have many friends in general. Came with my... line of work, I suppose. I've just never really made the effort to find those connections."</p><p>
  <em>But having friends is so important! And they're easy to find, especially in a small town like this. You really haven't met many other people here?</em>
</p><p>"It's not like I have many reasons to go out. Besides, I'm perfectly happy to stay here and hang out with you and Krypto."</p><p><em>Krypto does not count as a friend,</em> Kara types, giving Lena an unimpressed look. Lena purposefully juts out her lower lip in a pout.</p><p>"Oh, don't be mean, Kara. Of course Krypto counts. Don't you, Krypto, baby?"</p><p>Krypto lifts his head from where he's laying on the hardwood and <em>wuffs</em> softly, tail thudding against the floor. Kara flushes from head to toe, wondering what it would feel like if Lena called <em>her</em> 'baby.' Not for the first time, she is immensely jealous of her dog.</p><p>
  <em>You should come out with me and the gang on Saturday!</em>
</p><p>Lena blinks down at the message once, twice, three times. Her eyes cut up to Kara, brows furrowing as she tries to smile politely and mostly just grimaces.</p><p>"Oh, I don't know, Kara. I don't want to intrude on your friend group."</p><p>
  <em>Not at all! Everyone's super cool. I really want you to come. Please?</em>
</p><p>Kara leans over the kitchen island, eyes wide and hands clasped in front of her, lower lip thrust out in the world's most dramatic pout. Lena bites down on her lower lip in uncertainty, and Kara's blue eyes flicker down to it in reflex.</p><p>"I... well..." Kara's lower lip <em>quivers.</em> Lena stifles a sigh. "Okay, I'll come."</p><p>Kara throws her hands up in the air, a tiny, high pitched squeak escaping her as she jumps into the air and nearly slips on one of the wooden boards she'd removed from the cabinet.</p><p><em>She's going to be the end of me,</em> Lena thinks wryly to herself, watching affectionately as Kara puffs out in laughter and starts to rapidly text on her phone, no doubt telling all her friends that they're going to have a new guest on Saturday night. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Their aforementioned night out takes place at a dive bar called <em>Martian,</em> run by a friendly couple by the name of M'gann and J'onn. Lena drives up at eight o'clock on the dot, parking next to Kara's familiar blue pickup truck and pausing outside her Mercedes to peer up at the neon sign out front. <em>Martian</em> is lit up in neon green, with a red and blue cartoon UFO behind it. She doesn't have to wonder long if the theme continues within; as soon as she opens the door, she feels a little bit like she's walking into a rusty spaceship. It's an odd mix of <em>Firefly</em> and a <em>Star Wars</em> cantina, the booths grey metal with plush dark leather seats, the tables made of metal with subtle spaceship diagrams etched along the edges, the walls casually sporting old sci-fi movie posters and themed decor. Fake machinery, cables, and wiring hang from the dark ceiling, and all sources of light come from LED strips wrapped around the bar and under the booths and table bases, lighting up the otherwise dark concrete flooring. In the main open space are three pool tables, and a small concrete stage tucked into one corner seems to be reserved for karaoke, though it's not in use tonight.</p><p>Lena spots Nia first, the other girl currently leaning over the pool table to make her shot, Brainy leaning against the far end of the table and watching her with a small smile. At a nearby table, Kara leaps up from her chair and flails wildly for Lena's attention, a bright, beaming grin dimpling her cheeks as she bounces over like a golden retriever puppy.</p><p>"Hi, Kara," Lena says, somewhat breathlessly. Kara's luscious blonde locks are curled tonight, her eyes tastefully lined and her lips glossy pink, her jeans extra tight and paired with a flowy off-the-shoulder shirt that threatens to show off her abs if she lifts her arms up high enough. Kara is always beautiful, but this is a different kind of beautiful, and Lena feels thrown completely off her game as she fumbles to remember the basic ASL she's been studying in secret, hands uncertain as she signs, <em>Thank you for inviting me.</em></p><p>Blue eyes go wide with surprise, mouth parted as she gapes, and then Kara all but jumps at Lena in a bone crushing hug, those muscular arms squeezing tightly around her torso as Lena gladly hugs her back, chin resting briefly on the firm muscle between Kara's neck and shoulder. The others at the table Kara had jumped up from are all staring at her in various stages of curiosity or wariness, wondering how this stranger has so easily earned a Kara Danvers Embrace, but the look of joy and delight on Kara's face is worth the extra unwanted attention.</p><p>When they part, Kara can't help but quickly look Lena over again, taking in the fitted jeans and the dark green cashmere sweater, the way Lena's hair is neatly straightened more than usual and falls in a silky curtain over one shoulder. She's soft and so very lovely, and Kara can't help but say so, hands moving slowly in hopes that Lena can understand her.</p><p>
  <em>You look beautiful.</em>
</p><p>Feeling a blush rise to her cheeks at the wholehearted compliment, Lena brushes her hair behind her ear with a shy duck of her head and smiles, heart doubling in size at the way Kara gazes at her. Flattening her hand, she touches the tips of her fingers to her lips and then moves her hand forward towards Kara. <em>Thank you.</em></p><p>She's trying to remember how to sign 'you look beautiful too,' but before she can stumble her way through the hand signs, someone from Kara's table calls out to them.</p><p>"Quit hogging her all to yourself and introduce us," one of the men teases, his smile playful and welcoming as Kara flushes and motions for Lena to follow her over. They pull up seats and sit next to each other, and Lena has to hide her wary surprise when she recognizes the redheaded woman on Kara's other side from her first day at the diner.</p><p><em>Everyone, this is Lena! She's really cool. I've been renovating her cabin,</em> Kara signs, so excited that she doesn't notice her sister's calculating stare or the way James leans back in his chair and tilts his head in consideration.</p><p>"Hey, I'm Winn, Kara's BFF," Winn greets, thrusting out his hand and giving Lena a firm shake, all too eager to meet the woman who's turned Kara into a gay disaster this past week. He jerks a thumb towards James when the other man remains leaned far back, arms crossed. "This is James, my roommate."</p><p>James barely nods his head, ignoring an elbow jab from the woman next to him who promptly offers Lena a gentle handshake from across the table.</p><p>"I'm Kelly, James' sister. This is my girlfriend Alex," she adds proudly, slinging an arm around Alex's shoulders with an affectionate squeeze. Alex softens, smiling at Kelly before giving Lena a more measured look.</p><p>"Nice to meet you, Lena Luthor," she says pointedly, smiling a thin smile, a warning glint in her dark eyes. "I'm Kara's older sister."</p><p>James watches her, assessing, and Kelly offers an apologetic smile. Lena's starting to regret coming out here now that half the table seemingly knows exactly who she is.</p><p>"It's nice to meet you all," she says politely nonetheless, wondering if it would be rude to flee to the bar for a shot or three. She used to decimate entire rooms full of arrogant wealthy white men with nothing but her sharp words and sharper smiles, and yet she feels woefully unprepared for impressing Kara's friends, nevertheless her <em>sister.</em></p><p>"Lena!" Nia's familiar voice cheers from behind as the younger woman bounces over to give her a friendly squeeze around the shoulder. Brainy even waves amicably in Lena's direction before turning his focus back to the pool table.</p><p>"You don't have a drink in your hand yet, missy!" Nia chastises her, hands on her hips. "C'mon, you can come meet M'gann while you're up there."</p><p>Lena allows herself to be dragged off to the bar, relieved to be momentarily away from the table, even if it does mean being away from Kara. She and Nia hop onto stools near the middle of the bar and the bartender is in front of them instantly with a warm smile and a casual tip of the head.</p><p>"M'gann, this is Lena, she's new in town," Nia introduces, grinning as M'gann is already pouring another vodka soda for her. "Lena, this is M'gann, owner of <em>Martian."</em></p><p>"Welcome to Midvale," M'gann offers wryly, sliding the drink into Nia's waiting hand. "I hope you're enjoying our little slice of paradise."</p><p>"Midvale has been wonderful," Lena says, thinking of Kara with fondness. "And this bar has a great atmosphere."</p><p>"Thank you. My husband J'onn and I are big sci-fi fans." She grins, tilting her head for a moment as she seems to silently assess Lena with the eye of a professional bartender. "Let me guess; top shelf scotch, neat."</p><p>"You've got me," Lena chuckles, unbothered that her poison of choice is so predictable. "And, um, another of whatever Kara's drinking," she adds after a moment, motioning back to the table. M'gann nods and winks, getting to work on the drinks as Nia turns around.</p><p>"Oh, it's my turn. You should come play pool with us later," she says, giving Lena's arm a squeeze before scampering back to the game where Brainy is holding out the pool cue for her. Settling against the bar as she waits for her drinks, Lena exhales slowly and glances around the bar, taking in the slightly smoky atmosphere as a few neon lights flicker. The air smells relatively clean, albeit boozy, and she wonders at the presence of the light fog before finally noticing a couple smoke machines hidden strategically around the room, occasionally puffing out a harmless burst of atmospheric smoke. She feels a little bit like she's at a professional halloween party or some sort of themed Disneyland room and smiles in amused delight, having missed out on much of that in her youth.</p><p>"It's a cool place, right?" a man's voice smoothly interjects. Lena turns her head further to find that James has appeared by her side, leaning against the bar as well, sliding his empty glass across the counter and gesturing to M'gann for another. She curls her lips into a cool, polite smile, not having forgotten his somewhat standoffish behavior at the table during their introductions. He knows who she is, and that is already reason enough to be wary. The Luthor name has never made her any friends, that's for certain.</p><p>"I've always liked sci-fi and anything space related," she offers, an innocent enough parcel of information. She can feel his gaze on the side of her face as she avoids eye contact, and isn't sure if he's watching her with curiosity or suspicion. Perhaps it's both. M'gann sets two drinks down behind Lena with a click of her tongue and Lena turns, sliding out her wallet with a nod of thanks, just happy to have an escape.</p><p>"Let me pay for your drink," James offers, smiling as he pulls a few bills from his pocket. He's a good enough looking man with a charming smile, but there's something about him that she doesn't trust, and Lena knows to follow her gut feeling when it comes to men being sweet on her.</p><p>"No thanks, I've got it," she says with an equally sweet smile, sliding a fifty to M'gann with a wink for the amused woman and walking away with both drinks in hand, heading straight back to the table. Kara's all but wriggling like a puppy at her return, her face lighting up with delight when Lena hands her a fresh pink concoction in a large bellini glass.</p><p>"What is this?" Lena asks, amused, nodding towards Kara's drink as the blonde takes a deep pull from the straw. Neither pay any attention when James returns to the table.</p><p><em>Frozen strawberry bellini,</em> Kara replies, her hand signs slow when she finger-spells 'bellini' since there's no official ASL translation. Lena grins, unsurprised at Kara's alcoholic beverage choice. Everything about the blonde is as sweet as pie.</p><p>"Mind if I try a sip?" Lena asks, one eyebrow quirked as she smiles teasingly, and Kara nudges the drink towards her with a flustered flail of her hands. And okay, it's <em>shameless,</em> but Lena makes sure to leave a firm imprint of her lipstick on the straw after taking a tiny sip of the sweet concoction, thanking Kara with a grin and a wink, and delighting in the way the blonde just <em>stares</em> with her mouth ajar.</p><p>Alex chokes on her drink from across the table, glaring daggers, and Kelly pats her girlfriend's back while hiding a smile behind her hand.</p><p>"So Lena, have you gotten to see all that Midvale has to offer yet?" James pipes up, either too stupid to notice her blatantly flirting with Kara or knowingly ignoring it as a non-issue. Lena's betting on the latter. He doesn't seem the type to see much beyond the scope of his own merits.</p><p>"Not yet, but it's a lovely town and I'm sure I'll get around to seeing the sights eventually," she answers, more to the table than to James. Winn seems genuinely happy about meeting her, so she tries to direct her smile in his direction.</p><p>"Midvale's annual fair is coming up," Winn offers, "it's probably super small compared to what you're used to in the big city, but we have some rides and carnival games and even a fireworks show, it's really great! You should come with us. We all go together every year."</p><p>Kara's nodding fervently next to her, hands rushing to sign, <em>Please, pretty please?</em></p><p>"How can I say no to that," Lena chuckles, her smile softening only for Kara as green eyes crinkle with affection. Kara beams, clapping her hands together in excitement.</p><p>"Good, we could use some new blood for the bean toss," Kelly says, tossing Alex an exasperated smile as the redhead huffs. "These nerds have a whole competition over it every year."</p><p>"Bean toss?" Lena repeats, bemused.</p><p>"Bean bags. It's a carnival game. Gets ugly real quick when it comes to those two," Winn stage-whispers with a jerk of his thumb towards James and Alex. "Maybe you'll be a pro and put them both in their place this year around."</p><p>"I doubt it, but I'll certainly give it my best shot," Lena says, smiling indulgently, amusement twinkling in her eyes. Competition carnival games at a local fair in a small town. Lillian would have a conniption, but Lena's just touched to be invited, as if she might get to pretend like she belongs for once, just a girl with friends throwing bean bags and winning cheap teddy bear prizes at the local fair. Kara gazes openly at her, big blue eyes and lips curved into a soft, lopsided smile, and Lena wants this to work out more than she's wanted anything in a very long time.</p><p>They spend another long while chatting at the table, James trying to engage Lena every so often and Kara scowling suspiciously at him every time. He's being pleasant, <em>charming</em> even, which makes no sense because he'd been <em>villanizing</em> her just a week ago, going off about how Lena was probably a monster just like the rest of the Luthors. Winn meets her eyes across the table with a baffled one of his own, unsure of what his roommate's angle is. Because surely there must be an angle. James has never been good at playing nice with people he doesn't trust, and he's made it very clear that the Luthors are on the top of that list.</p><p>"So you really moved here all by yourself? That's very brave. Can't be easy being alone in a new town," James says at some point, when the discussion brushes on the reason she moved to Midvale. Lena's smile is a political one, the coolly friendly-yet-not-actually-friendly one she uses when she deals with misogynistic board members at a company meeting. Even Kara shifts at her side, unused to seeing this look on Lena.</p><p>"Let's not pretend you don't know exactly who I am, mister Olsen," she says sweetly, and yes, she <em>may</em> have quickly looked him up on her phone under the table just so she could call him by his surname in the most patronizing of ways. "I should think you'd be relieved I didn't bring my family along."</p><p>Winn and Kelly both grimace, prepared for James' indignant response. To their surprise, James just chuckles, flashing a set of pearly whites as he leans back comfortably in his seat.</p><p>"I'm impressed, is all. I've been considering moving to Metropolis to pursue my career, and the thought of being alone in a new place can be daunting." He shrugs, easy going. Kara turns her head to hide her eye roll, tired of listening to James always talking about Metropolis and the Daily Planet as if he <em>could get the job if he really wanted to.</em> As if he stayed in Midvale just for their sakes, and not because he was secretly afraid of failing and having to come back with his tail between his legs. It may have taken her years, but she <em>knows</em> him now, and she sees through his bullshit. Just as she can see what he's doing when he casually says, "If you ever want to see more of Midvale, or just want some company out at your cabin—"</p><p>Kara stiffens, her hands turning to angry fists on her lap. She nearly whips them up over the table to sign something she'd most likely regret later, but a slender hand settles softly over her fist and douses her anger almost immediately.</p><p>"Oh, no need to strain yourself, Kara already makes sure that <em>all</em> of my needs are met," Lena says with a smirk, holding James' gaze as she downs the last of her scotch with one graceful tilt of her head and then sets the glass down with a <em>thunk.</em> "Kara, come play pool with me?"</p><p>Red as a tomato, Kara nods rapidly, quickly slurping down the remains of her drink to ease her parched throat and then all but leaping from the table to follow after Lena as the brunette sashays away past Nia and Brainy's pool table, where Nia is openly <em>wheezing</em> with laughter. Winn and Kelly purse their lips, trying not to laugh for James' sake, but Alex is the one to let loose a loud snort, barely suppressing it behind a hand even as James scowls at her. She may not <em>like</em> Lena Luthor, but anyone who can slap James off of his self-important high horse gets a point from her.</p><p>"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you," Lena says immediately once she and Kara are standing together at the furthest pool table, a pink flush visible on her cheeks even under her foundation. "He was just so full of himself all night and I wanted to knock him down a few pegs..."</p><p><em>It's okay,</em> Kara signs, looking amused despite the deep blush on her face. She types quickly on her phone and hands it over, not wanting to overwhelm Lena with too many new ASL words just yet. <em>He's been kind of an ass since I turned him down after one date last year. It was pretty funny watching him get rejected.</em></p><p>"I kind of got that impression from the way he barely spoke to you. I'm glad I could get some revenge for you," Lena teases, grinning wide enough to hide her disappointment that Kara had gone on a date with James at all. There's an innocent look of shy delight on Kara's face, like she hadn't expected Lena to go out of her way to defend her and slap some humility into someone who'd wronged her. And maybe Kara just appreciates it as a friend thing, as something a BFF or a sister would do, but if that's all that she can give her, Lena will take it. If she can just be a best friend who supports her and defends her honor against jilted ex boyfriends, who sometimes jokingly flirts with her to piss off shitty men without it <em>meaning</em> anything, she'll do it.</p><p>Is it masochistic? Probably. But Lena's no stranger to accepting the kinds of relationships she thinks she deserves, no matter how much it hurts.</p><p>"Show me how to play," she says instead, picking up a pool cue for the first time in her life and smiling at Kara as the blonde flails in surprise because <em>how have you never played pool??</em></p><p>Kara eventually ends up with her arms around Lena, the two of them leaning over the table as Kara guides her hands into the right position, her front nearly pressed flush against Lena's back and the both of them sporting shy smiles and glittering eyes.</p><p>"That's lesbian activity," Alex points out with a grumble, huffing as she crosses her arms and watches Lena shamelessly lean against her precious little sister. Kelly chuckles, patting her girlfriend's thigh comfortingly as James scowls at the both of them.</p><p>"Just because you two are gay doesn't mean every woman is gay," he snipes, clearly wounded if the defensive glare on his face is any indication. Kelly narrows her eyes at her brother in a sharp warning. The table is awkwardly silent, the way it gets when someone says something vaguely offensive and everyone else is wondering if they should call them out or pretend they hadn't heard it.</p><p>"Dude, they both turned you down and now they're practically on top of each other. Let it go, man," Winn finally says, rolling his eyes a little. James stands and grabs his beer, giving Winn an annoyed look.</p><p>"Darts?" he asks, already moving towards the far end of the bar where the dart boards are. Winn sighs and stands, giving Alex and Kelly a wry smile before following after his roommate. </p><p>"Sorry about him," Kelly murmurs, grimacing a little when she looks at Alex. They've been friends for a few years now ever since Kelly moved back to Midvale after a long scholarship abroad, but their relationship is brand new, and she doesn't want her brother's childish behavior to reflect poorly on her.</p><p>"Hey, you don't ever have to apologize for him," Alex says with a frown, wrapping her arm around Kelly's shoulders. Growing up with the same people in a small town means you tend to know a lot about them, and she's seen him at his worst, constantly overcompensating by acting like he knows what's best for everyone and throwing tantrums when he's proven wrong. She'd very nearly punched his lights out and ruined the group's dynamic last year when he wouldn't get over the fact that Kara hadn't wanted to date him. "He's a manchild, he'll grow up or he won't. He's not your responsibility."</p><p>"I just wish he wouldn't make things so awkward. Lena seems like a nice girl, and Kara's been so happy lately." Kelly rests her head against Alex's shoulder, happy to snuggle against her as they sip their drinks and watch their friends around the bar. Alex tenses slightly, still frowning over at where Kara and Lena are way too close together for her liking.</p><p>"I guess," she says, noncommittal. Kelly lifts her head.</p><p>"Alex Danvers, you'd better not be harassing baby Danvers about her crush. Look at those two. They're <em>adorable</em> together."</p><p>"I'm just looking out for my little sister!" Alex complains. Kelly gently slaps her on the sternum.</p><p>"Maybe stop worrying about your sister's <em>lesbian activity</em> and start focusing on your <em>own,"</em> she purrs suggestively, quirking a brow. Alex gapes uselessly at her, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. "What do you say, Danvers? Think you can leave Kara in Lena's capable hands and sneak out of here with me? We could head back to mine, pop a bottle of champagne..."</p><p>"Where'd your sister go?" Lena asks after a moment, when she realizes she can no longer feel Alex's glaring eyes watching her from across the room. Kara looks around, confused, before blushing and puffing out little breaths of laughter.</p><p><em>She and Kelly are both gone,</em> she signs, wiggling her eyebrows dramatically. Lena laughs, a real, throaty, wholehearted laugh, and Kara just smiles at her like she hung the moon and the stars.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"Can I ask why you call your mother by her name?"</p><p>They're sitting in the cabin hallway across from each other, legs stretched out as they share scones and afternoon tea, the chaos of replacing the old laundry machines with modern ones spilling out from the laundry room doorway next to Kara. Krypto's big fluffy form sprawls out comfortably next to Lena's thigh, his nose occasionally pressing to her knee in a bid for crumbs.</p><p>
  <em>She's my adopted mother. Alex is my adoptive sister. They took me in when I was thirteen.</em>
</p><p>Lena hesitates, seeming to get the gist of it, before repeating the signs for 'adopted' that she hasn't quite learned yet. Kara types quickly on her phone, seeming to mull it over and rewrite it a few times, before finally passing it over.</p><p>
  <em>That's ASL for 'adopted.' My parents died, and Eliza was a friend of my mother's, and I already knew Alex growing up, so... they took me in right away, even though they had just lost Jeremiah to cancer. He was Alex's dad, Eliza's husband. We all helped each other get through it, in a way.</em>
</p><p>"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't know," Lena says softly, handing the phone back, their fingers brushing and lingering for a moment as they exchange sad smiles. "I'm glad you have them. From the way you talk about them, it's clear you all love each other."</p><p>Kara smiles warmly, nodding her head. <em>I miss my parents, but Eliza and Alex are also the best family I could have asked for. I'm lucky to have them.</em></p><p>Fiddling with the crumbs on her plate, Lena takes a deep breath. She'd hinted at it vaguely before, but after all that was talked about at the bar the previous night, she wants to know more about Kara, and she wants to be able to share more about herself, too. Even the parts she's ashamed or afraid to admit. </p><p>"I'm adopted too. The Luthors took me in when I was just four... or, rather, my father took custody of me so that people didn't realize I was his daughter from a mistress. The Luthor family isn't a good one. I'm sure you've heard plenty from Alex," she adds with a self deprecating smile, thinking of the three scientists Lex had killed when he'd set off a bomb in his own lab. They weren't good people by any stretch of the imagination, considering they'd willingly helped with his secret human trials, but they were people nonetheless, part of something horrible she had been too naive to believe her brother could have ever been a part of. Some nights it still keeps her awake, wondering how she'd missed all the signs, wondering if she could have somehow stopped Lex's downward spiral before he started hurting people. "The things you've heard are probably all true. Lionel made his fortune on dirty money. Lillian manipulates everyone she comes into contact with. And Lex... He was a good brother to me, once. But somewhere along the way, he became a man I didn't recognize, and I didn't know how to stop him until it was too late. I let the Luthors destroy themselves, until I was forced to step in and pick up the pieces, to save a tarnished empire I never wanted."</p><p>Kara gives her a soft look at her bitter chuckle, a little furrow appearing between her brows as she reaches out and grasps Lena's hand, larger calloused hand gently wrapping around Lena's more slender one. Fingers twitching, Lena resists her initial urge to pull away, unused to such tender displays of genuine comfort. Instead she relaxes into it with a tentative smile, gently squeezing Kara's fingers back.</p><p>"This is actually her cabin. My mother's," Lena says after a moment, a quiet admission. She sets her free hand on the hardwood floor, fingers tracing the lines of the wood. "She left it to me after she passed away. I finally had the chance to leave National City, to get away from the Luthors, so... I came here."</p><p>Kara gently withdraws her hand so she can sign, signalling Lena to look back up.</p><p>
  <em>I'm sure she's happy knowing you're home now.</em>
</p><p>Home. It pulls an unexpected sob out of Lena, one she tries to cover with a startled laugh. Her eyes are wet with unshed tears, and somehow she manages to stop them from falling, but her vision blurs nonetheless, Kara's face turning into an indistinct blob as she quickly runs a finger under her lash line, willing the tears away.</p><p>"Sorry, I'm getting all emotional," she sniffs, chuckling at herself as she fans her face as if that will magic away the wetness in her eyes. Kara shakes her head, waiting until Lena's eyes are on her before signing,</p><p>
  <em>You are my friend. You can tell me anything, I will always be here for you.</em>
</p><p>Friend. Lena nods. She knew it was probably all that she'd get. Still, it's more than she expected, and she sinks willingly into Kara's hug when the blonde scoots closer with her arms open, pulling her into a firm and warm embrace, Lena's cheek resting comfortably in that space between neck and shoulder, Kara's arms tight around her back.</p><p>"I'm glad I met you," Lena mumbles against a mouthful of blonde hair. Kara just squeezes her tighter.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>L.L.: </strong>oh god I think I love her</p><p><strong>SamArias:</strong> you're killing me here i stg</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A few weeks later, Lena finally sees the workshop.</p><p>It's not much, Kara insists, as humble and shy as ever, but it's hers. It's a spacious building next to the woods out back of the Danvers homestead, bigger than a shed but not quite a barn, and Lena feels giddy when Kara takes her by the hand and leads her down the pebble path around the Danvers house, across the grass and to the workshop lit up by strings of fairy lights.</p><p>"This is so lovely!" Lena says in awe, delighting in the pride twinkling in Kara's eyes as she pulls open one of the large sliding doors and invites her in. It's brightly lit, the tables clear and the walls organized with every tool neatly hung up. Some of the machines and power tools are still lightly covered in sawdust, having recently been used, and various furniture pieces are lined up against the back wall, a preview of Kara's many talents.</p><p>"Oh, wow. May I?" Lena asks, motioning towards the furniture. Kara nods, so she moves closer to appreciate the pieces, tentatively running her fingertips across the engravings of a maple dresser, taking in the smooth lines and elegant curves of every beautiful image etched across the surface. She moves on to a smooth, glossy bench of a dark rosewood, the armrests made to look like a curved feather. Against the wall, she finds a large walnut clock, the clock face carefully carved with an art nouveau design, each delicate hand coated in gold leaf.</p><p>"Please tell me this hasn't been claimed yet," Lena grins, pointing at the clock. Kara shakes her head in the negative, smiling as she stoops down to pick it up and set it gently on the table for Lena to get a better look.</p><p>
  <em>I'd never made a clock before, this was my first try. There were a few mistakes. I can make you a better one?</em>
</p><p>"No way, Kara! I want this one. It's <em>perfect."</em> Lena beams, setting her hands protectively on the clock as if she already owns it. Kara suppresses the longing ache in her chest and lifts her hands in acquiescence, unable to deny the brunette anything.</p><p>
  <em>Okay. It's yours.</em>
</p><p>"You know if you don't name a price, I'll just pay you whatever I feel like paying," Lena threatens sweetly, cocking a brow and watching as Kara scrunches her nose and huffs.</p><p>
  <em>Okay. Forty bucks.</em>
</p><p>"What is this? Solid walnut? It's high quality, too." Lena taps a knuckle gently on the clock face. "Higher."</p><p>
  <em>Sixty?</em>
</p><p>"How many hours did it take you to carve this? And to sand it all down and lacquer it?" Lena points out, still smug. Kara blushes prettily, toeing the ground with her boot.</p><p>
  <em>Maybe... roughly... eight hours in total?</em>
</p><p>"Minimum wage times eight hours, Kara. Plus the cost of the walnut and the clock arm mechanism. And then some, because these carvings are a specialized skill you did by hand, not some cheap plastic mass produced in a factory."</p><p>Kara blinks at her, uncertain. Lena shakes her head and smiles, pulling up her phone and quickly sending a payment to Kara's account through her bank app's e-transfer option.</p><p>"Friends or not, I will always pay someone fairly for their time and their hard work. You deserve to get paid well for your talents," Lena insists, giving Kara's forearm a gentle squeeze before going back to admiring her new wall clock. The chime of Kara's phone goes off, an alert for receiving a money transfer, and she widens her eyes at the hundred and sixty dollars deposited into her account.</p><p><em>You're way too good to me,</em> she signs with a huff, knowing there's nothing she can do to change Lena's mind. Instead of her now-usual cheekiness, Lena gives her a soft look, something unplaceable glittering in her mossy green eyes that has Kara's breath catching.</p><p>"You deserve the world, Kara Danvers," she says quietly. Kara stares and yearns and <em>wants,</em> and she doesn't know how to ask, doesn't know if she even deserves to ask, but as her lips part with a quiet intake of breath, the workshop door squeaks loudly as it's pushed open, the two young women jumping in place.</p><p>"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," an older blonde says, laughing quietly as she steps inside, an envelope clutched in her hands as she smiles at them both. Krypto's on her heels, but immediately plasters himself to Lena's hip in greeting once he realizes she's there. "Hi, you must be Lena! I'm Eliza, Kara and Alex's mother."</p><p>"Hi," Lena offers, nearly tripping over Krypto to shake her hand, not having expected to meet Kara's mother so suddenly. "It's lovely to meet you."</p><p><em>Hi, Eliza,</em> Kara signs with a fond little wave, a tinge of embarrassment on her face, like any teenager might feel when caught hanging out with their crush by their own mother. Oblivious to the moment she's intruded on, Eliza brightens and quickly holds up the envelope, waving it victoriously.</p><p>"You wouldn't believe what I found in some old photo albums! When I heard Lena moved in, I had to see if I still had these. I knew your mother, you know— Aoife, right? She mostly kept to herself out at that cabin, but she'd come into town once in a while, such a lovely young woman, and I just <em>knew</em> I remembered seeing her with a darling little girl—"</p><p>Eliza starts pulling a small stack of old photographs from the envelope, laying them out neatly on the table. Lena's unmoving, however, a polite smile frozen on her face as she clutches at the table, and Kara immediately moves to her side, gently resting a hand against her lower back. As if broken from a spell, the brunette sucks in a breath and leans against Kara's shoulder for a moment before circling the table, hesitantly approaching Eliza's side to look at the photos.</p><p>"See? That's you, isn't it?" Eliza says proudly, tapping her finger on a photo of a little dark haired girl. Lena's never seen any photos of herself as a child, not until she started appearing in Luthor family portraits as a sullen twelve year old girl with lonely eyes, but somehow she knows in her heart that it is her. That round little face with the big green eyes, dark hair pulled up into a little pigtail. Lena swallows, gaze slowly shifting over to the next photo, and her heart clenches painfully at the familiar green eyes crinkled with a big smile. Aoife Kieran looks like Lena— or rather, Lena looks just like her mother. Except Aoife's hair is a dark rich red, wild with natural waves and curls, and she smiles like she hasn't a care in the world, a toddler Lena sitting on her hip as they laugh together at a park.</p><p>"How did—?" Lena gasps, grabbing the photograph and bringing it closer with trembling fingers, a thumb brushing over the image of her mother. Eliza smiles softly at her, heart breaking for this young woman who looks a breath away from crumbling at the mere image of her mother. She can't imagine how painful it must have been, for Aoife to have laid in her deathbed and known that she would never have the chance to watch her daughter grow up.</p><p>"I convinced her to bring you to Alex's sixth birthday party at the park. You were barely three years old, if I remember correctly." Eliza pauses, then picks up another photo and hands it to Kara with a soft smile. "Alura brought you that day, too."</p><p>Kara takes the photo, chuckling shakily at the image of Alura wrangling a hyperactive blonde toddler. She'd always been a handful. Always too hyper, too excited. Alura looks exasperated in the picture, but there is undeniable love in her eyes that makes Kara's heart ache. She'd been so young, then, not quite three years old, and she doesn't remember attending Alex's sixth birthday. She can hardly even believe it; she and Lena had been at the same birthday party when they'd been toddlers.</p><p>"I didn't get many chances to get to know your mother," Eliza says gently to Lena, smiling with empathy when stunned green eyes lift to meet her gaze, "but Aoife was so sweet, and she loved you more than anything. She would be so proud of the wonderful young woman you've become."</p><p>Lena swallows hard, the photograph tightly pinched between her fingers as she takes in the understanding smile on Eliza's face, the warm maternal love that emanates from this stranger who had known her when she was just a babe. Who had known her mother. Sucking in a sharp breath, Lena presses the photo to her heart and nods.</p><p>"Thank you," she says seriously, her eyes wet but her lips tightly pursed. She can't break down in front of Eliza, even if the woman has given her this great gift, and so Eliza smiles in understanding and squeezes her shoulder, once, before leaving the workshop, snapping her fingers for Krypto to follow and give the girls some privacy.</p><p>Releasing a shaky breath, Lena chokes back a sob and looks at the photo again, tracing the outline of her mother's familiar face with trembling fingers. Kara remains steady next to her, a silent but comforting presence.</p><p>"It's my Mum," Lena whispers, still in awe. She'd never seen pictures. The cabin had been cleared of photographs after Aoife passed away, no doubt Lionel's doing, and he'd never given her any indication that he'd kept them. Perhaps he'd buried them, just like he'd quietly buried Aoife when she died soon after losing custody of Lena. Had he ever truly loved her at all?</p><p><em>She is beautiful,</em> Kara signs slowly, a hand briefly resting upon her heart as she smiles. <em>You have her eyes and her smile.</em></p><p>Lena does cry, then, soft sobs that wrack her frame as she curls into Kara's comforting embrace, the blonde rubbing her back and offering up her own flannel shirt to soak up Lena's tears. They remain like that for what feels like a long time, Kara's shirt growing damp beneath Lena's eyes, and then she hears it—</p><p>Humming. Soft, melodic, beautifully haunting in tune. It resonates faintly from Kara's chest and up through her nose, quiet and unsteady at first, growing stronger and more confident as Lena relaxes into Kara's arms. She's heard it before, usually from another room or from the other side of the cabin, but Kara has never hummed <em>for</em> her, and Lena relishes the special moment for what it is, that Kara feels safe enough to do it.</p><p>Turning her head to rest her cheek against Kara's shoulder, they quietly go through the rest of the photos together, finding more candid shots of Aoife and Lena, one of Aoife and Alura chatting briefly, and even one of a chubby cheeked Lena seated next to a wild haired Alex as both toddlers stare wide-eyed at the lit candles atop a birthday cake. And then suddenly there's a photo of the two of them, tiny Lena and tiny Kara, pressed side by side with chocolate smears on their mouths as they giggle up at the camera with gap-toothed smiles, and Lena silently thanks whoever it was who had taken so many photos of the birthday party that day, because this is a gift she never thought she would receive.</p><p>"I can't believe we met when we were babies," Lena murmurs, laughing quietly as she holds up the photo. Kara grins, warmth shining in her eyes as she glances between baby Lena and the woman at her side.</p><p>
  <em>Explains why we're such good friends now. We were cake buddies!</em>
</p><p>Kara pulls out her cellphone and quickly takes a photo of the print so that she has a copy for herself, puffing out in laughter as she shows Lena her new home screen image. Lena groans, good natured as she crinkles her nose.</p><p>"Really? You want your home screen to be of me with missing teeth and chocolate all over my face?"</p><p><em>Baby Lena is adorable,</em> Kara teases, protectively clutching her cellphone to her chest as if afraid Lena will grab it and change it. Shaking her head, Lena smiles down at the photo of Alura with little Kara, tapping a finger on it.</p><p>"Baby Kara is even more adorable. And your mother was beautiful too." Kara relaxes, her smile turning nostalgic and a little sad as she picks up her photo while Lena gently gathers up the photos of herself and Aoife. It's strange, having their pasts laid out next to each other, vulnerable and out in the open, yet comforting at the same time. Lena feels like she can ask almost anything. That she wouldn't mind answering anything.</p><p>"Thank you for humming to me," she says instead, feeling thankful for the privilege. Kara meets her gaze, holds it for a moment, and then takes a breath and lifts her hands.</p><p>
  <em>When I was thirteen, my parents and I got into a car accident. They died, and I was in the hospital for a long time. My vocal chords are fine, but I haven't spoken a word since.</em>
</p><p>She leaves it unsaid; that she can hum, but only does so in rare moments, when she's alone and feeling safe. Lena's heart twists with the knowledge that Kara trusts her like this.</p><p><em>You are always safe with me,</em> she signs out slowly. Kara wraps an arm around her shoulder, squeezing her close, and they stay for many hours longer, just sharing stories about their departed mothers and reminiscing about their fondest memories.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The annual Midvale fair creeps up on them on the tailcoats of summer, the trees teasing shades of red and orange in preparation for autumn, the sky still bright but bringing with it a slight nip in the air. It's the perfect excuse to start wearing cozy sweaters and big scarves and cute mitts, sharing hot cocoa and huddling together for warmth. Lena delights in donning her fluffy cashmere sweaters and wrapping massive infinity scarves around her shoulders, if only as an excuse to lasso it around Kara as well to keep her close. It's friendly and affectionate, and Lena convinces herself that she's just being a cuddly best friend, because that's what female friends do, isn't it? Get all up in each other's business and giggle about it like it's no big deal?</p><p>"Lena, <em>sweetheart,"</em> Sam had sighed over the phone, sounding both fondly exasperated and disappointed in her, and Lena had insisted that she was just being a good friend to a straight girl. A straight girl that pretty much owned her heart.</p><p>"One of these days," Sam had simply grumbled and said no more.</p><p>Kara insists on picking her up that day, claiming that it's a full day affair, so Lena is ready and out the door as soon as she hears the familiar pickup truck rumbling up the driveway. Leaving the truck idling, Kara hops out to lift her up in an excited hug, spinning her in a full circle before gently setting her back down. She's in a thick red flannel shirt, the arms tight around her biceps, and dark blue jeans that hug long legs, drawing Lena's thirsty gaze before she finally remembers her manners.</p><p>"Hey you," she breathes out, lips stretching into a wide smile.</p><p><em>Hi,</em> Kara signs, baby blue eyes crinkled as she drinks in the sight of Lena in the softest blue cashmere sweater she has ever seen, with a giant grey infinity scarf nearly engulfing the lower half of her face. She looks so impossibly <em>soft,</em> and Kara's chest aches with affection as she rushes around the truck to hold open the passenger door, beaming when Lena accepts a hand up into her seat. This is one festivity that Krypto has to sit out, Kara informs her with an apologetic smile, because after last year's <em>Bratwurst Incident</em> he'd been banned. Lena's bright laughter fills the cab as they drive.</p><p>It may be small and quaint, but there is something so utterly endearing about a small town fair that it captures Lena's heart almost immediately. They meet up with the others near the cotton candy stall, Nia already halfway through a giant pink ball of sugary fluff, and Kara immediately buys one to share with Lena as they walk together as a group, stopping every so often to watch someone try their luck at a carnival game or to buy more food to share.</p><p>Lena understands ASL almost perfectly now—not a hard feat for a genius who's motivated to learn—and more often than not has silent little conversations with Kara, sharing secret smiles and glances when the others aren't paying attention. Alex doesn't <em>like</em> it, but she's also never seen Kara this happy before, so when Kara and Winn are busy bickering over which flavors of dessert waffles to get for the group, Alex pulls Lena aside and says, quite bluntly,</p><p>"What are your intentions with my sister?"</p><p>"What?" Lena blurts, looking as caught as a deer in headlights. If she were anyone else, Alex might have laughed. Hell, if not for Eliza gushing about how baby Lena had been at her sixth birthday party (and she's still trying to wrap her head around <em>that,)</em> Alex wouldn't even be considering this conversation. But Lena's the apple of Kara's eye, and apparently she'd been <em>born</em> here, so Alex is willing to make this one concession.</p><p>"You heard me, Luthor. What are your intentions with Kara?"</p><p>"She... She's my best friend," Lena replies, the answer sounding weak to even her own ears. And then, with certainty, "I just want her to be happy."</p><p>Alex stares at her for a long moment, dark eyes so intense that Lena could swear they were peering into her soul, and then the redhead just nods, seemingly placated.</p><p>"You be good to her," she says simply, before turning around and going back to Kelly's side.</p><p><em>Everything okay?</em> Kara signs, reappearing by Lena's side with a big paper plate of waffles covered in vanilla bean ice cream and chocolate drizzle. Lena blinks, bemused, and then gives Kara a hesitant smile.</p><p><em>I think your sister just gave me a shovel talk?</em> she signs, uncertain. Kara purses her lips and puffs out a short, apologetic laugh.</p><p>
  <em>I'm so sorry. Will a chocolate waffle make you feel better?</em>
</p><p>"Chocolate? You know the way to my heart," Lena teases softly, already grabbing an offered fork and digging into the sweet confection. </p><p>Somehow, someway, Kara ends up with chocolate on her face. It's just a smudge on the edge of her mouth, but it reminds Lena of a certain photo, and so she dips her finger into the leftover chocolate sauce and dabs a bit of it onto the side of her own mouth with a chuckle. Kara's looking at her like she's crazy, but as soon as Lena pulls out her phone and flips the camera, she starts to laugh in understanding, happily posing next to Lena with their heads pressed together and wide smiles proudly showing off their chocolate smudges.</p><p>Alex watches with a disturbed face, but Nia is absolutely <em>thrilled</em> once they tell her about the original photograph.</p><p>"That's the kind of thing you only hear about in fairytales!" the younger girl sighs dreamily, swinging her hand with Brainy's as they walk next to Kara and Lena towards the carnival games. "That would make such a romantic movie plot, can you imagine?"</p><p>"I'm sure," Lena agrees with a chuckle, playing along. "If only I were some tall handsome man, I would have already swept this one off her feet."</p><p><em>Excuse you, I'm not so easily won over,</em> Kara huffs, pouting. Nia just snickers, mumbling something under her breath to Brainy that gets a chuckle out of her usually stoic boyfriend.</p><p>"I dunno, Kara," Winn wheedles, a smug smirk on his face as he narrows his eyes at Kara. "You seemed pretty easily won over, last I heard."</p><p>Kara sputters, glaring threateningly at her best friend because how <em>dare</em> he call out her useless gay ass in front of Lena, but it's James on Winn's other side who says, "Wait, what?"</p><p>"What?" Winn repeats awkwardly, only then realizing that he probably shouldn't be making these jokes around the one person in their friend group who doesn't take rejection well. At all.</p><p>"Won over? By who?" James asks, but by his tone of voice and stiff body language, it's very much a demand and not an optional question. The group has stopped abruptly now, standing in the middle of the carnival section, Alex bristling and Kelly pulling on James' wrist in warning. Kara stands frozen, panic visible only in her eyes, and Lena doesn't know what Winn meant either, isn't sure who he's insinuating Kara has been <em>won over</em> by, but she won't stand by and let James railroad her into an admission regardless.</p><p>"I don't think that's any of your business," she says sharply, moving between them even as she reaches back and touches Kara's wrist in support.</p><p>"And it's yours?" he asks with a sneer. He's done playing nice with her now that she's rejected him too, evidently.</p><p>"No, it's not," Lena says calmly, frowning. "It's no one's business but her own. I'm respecting that because I'm her <em>friend.</em> Something you would know about if you'd put your damned ego away and actually <em>listened</em> to her for once in your life."</p><p>He opens his mouth to retort, face twisted with indignation, but Kelly yanks him back hard by his arm, clearly done with his behavior if the cold glare she gives him is any indication. "That's <em>enough,</em> James. Take a walk."</p><p>Alex stands behind her, arms crossed and face deadly, and even Winn scowls and shakes his head when James looks to him for support. Angry and embarrassed, James pulls away from his sister's grip and storms off, not even bothering to meet Kara's eyes when she watches him go with a sigh.</p><p>"I'm so sorry, Kara," Winn mumbles, looking like a kicked dog as he shuffles closer to his best friend. "I didn't mean to say that in front of him. I didn't think..."</p><p><em>It's okay, he's the one being unreasonable,</em> Kara signs, shrugging and smiling wryly. She feels stung, but mostly disappointed. She'd given James every opportunity to be her friend, and he'd thwarted it every time out of arrogance or ego. <em>Come on, forget about him. We're here to have fun! Nia, look, the bratwurst stall is back this year!</em></p><p>She and Nia suddenly sprint off towards the bratwurst stall like excitable children, Brainy trailing after them with a fond roll of his eyes. Alex and Kelly follow at a slower pace, talking quietly with their heads leaned together, so Lena walks next to Winn, wondering if she'd overstepped and if she shouldn't have intervened after all.</p><p>"Was I out of line?" she asks quietly, uncertain. Winn looks at her in surprise before quickly slinging an arm around her shoulder and giving her a friendly squeeze.</p><p>"Hey, no. We're all glad you stood up for her. Kara... Kara sometimes lets people walk all over her, maybe because she thinks it's the easier way out. But she's lucky to have you, you know? I'm happy she has you."</p><p>Winn smiles, lopsided and comforting, and gives her back another pat before jogging on ahead, shouting at Kara and Nia to save some bratwurst for him.</p><p>Later, after too much food and enough sweets to give them all cavities, they turn their focus to the carnival games, killing time as they wait for the scheduled fireworks. Lena's not exactly been to many fairs in her life, but it fulfills her movie-based expectations fairly well. Balloon popping, dart throwing, ring tosses and baseball throwing. There's a duck hunt station with toy rifles that shoots plastic pellets, and Alex and Winn manage to waste nearly twenty dollars each when they get competitive about who can knock down the most targets. Nia is surprisingly good at the ring toss, winning a handful of cute little keychains for the group (Lena isn't sure what it's <em>supposed</em> to be, but it's basically a soft blue fluffball on a chain that she laughs and clips onto her wallet,) and Brainy shocks them all by dominating the balloon pop and winning the biggest stuffed bear for Nia.</p><p>"Kara, no, these things are always rigged," Lena laughs, warm and happy as she tugs on the arm linked with hers. Kara's grinning, though, her finger pointed quite decisively at the game stall she wants to try. Mostly because she'd noticed Lena smiling at the medium sized Stitch plushie and decided that she <em>had</em> to win it for her.</p><p>"Don't they glue the bottles together?" Kelly asks, amused. She'd seen her brother get angry and embarrassed multiple times in past years when he'd whipped baseballs at the stacks and could never seem to knock them all over.</p><p><em>I can do it,</em> Kara insists, gently detangling from Lena and marching over to the stall with a five dollar bill in hand. The game attendant hands her three baseballs, wishing her luck and then stepping out of the way. Lena isn't sure how rigged the game is, but she'll certainly appreciate the sight of Kara in pitching form, her arm coiling back with her biceps flexing before she whips it forward. The first ball takes the top bottle clean off the stack. Nia and Winn woop loudly, clapping as Kara winds back for another throw. The second ball knocks the left bottle off. With one baseball and one bottle left, the others go quiet, breaths held in anticipation. </p><p>Kara furrows her brow, winds back, and throws. </p><p>"Aww, it was a good try!" Nia offers, as they all watch the ball miss and bounce off the back wall. The group is about to move on when Kara pulls out another bill and hands it over, determined.</p><p><em>One more round,</em> she signs, gesturing for them to wait. Lena leans in to squeeze her bicep.</p><p>"Kara, you don't have to win Stitch for me, it's just a toy," she says, chuckling softly. It'd be a shame to waste money on a rigged game. But Kara grins at her, shaking her head stubbornly, so Lena steps back and gives her space as she picks up her first ball and winds back.</p><p>Kara throws <em>hard,</em> and the ball knocks all three metal bottles down with a loud clatter.</p><p>"Boom!" Nia shouts, throwing her hands up as Winn woops loudly. All Kara has eyes for is that bright blue Stitch plush hanging up in the prize section, her hands held out and fingers wiggling until the game attendant finally hands it over with a bemused congratulations.</p><p><em>One cute little alien, just for you,</em> Kara signs, smiling sweetly as she presents it to Lena. Accepting the gift, Lena hugs the plush to her chest with an honest to god <em>giggle.</em> And she wants to kiss Kara, <em>dear god she wants to kiss Kara,</em> but she <em>can't,</em> so she does the next best thing and plants a big kiss right in the middle of Stitch's forehead, leaving the perfect red lipstick imprint on his soft blue fur.</p><p>"Thank you, I love him," Lena murmurs, cuddling the little alien under her chin.</p><p>Kara just <em>beams.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Four months into their friendship, every repair and renovation is done.</p><p>It's almost disappointing, in a way. They're friends now, of course, but constant work on the cabin was an easy explanation for spending nearly every day together. Without that, Kara feels a little lost, unsure if Lena even wants her to visit all the time. Perhaps she'll be glad to finally have a finished cabin all to herself.</p><p><em>Well, that's the last of it,</em> Kara signs reluctantly, when she's triple checked everything and has packed away the last of her tools. Krypto's sprawled out on the couch, looking like he has no intention of leaving, and Kara wishes she could feasibly lay on the couch and refuse to move too.</p><p>"I suppose it is," Lena murmurs, looking vaguely surprised. She glances around the main room, as if hoping something new will just suddenly appear and need renovations. No such luck. "I can finally pay you the remaining balance now without you popping a blood vessel, right?"</p><p>The joke is weak at best, but Kara smiles and nods, a little shy about it but no longer resisting. Lena's been relentless, and Kara is getting better about accepting fair payment for her work instead of constantly underselling herself.</p><p>"There we go," Lena says, putting her phone away as Kara's pings with an alert. The money transfer is complete. Kara's job is officially done, and neither are certain how to proceed. After a moment of awkward silence, Lena says, "Coffee?"</p><p><em>Yes please.</em> Kara looks relieved.</p><p>They both end up on the couch, sitting side by side as they sip their coffee and watch the slowly setting sun touching the treetops in Lena's yard. It's quiet, aside from Krypto's soft snores as he drifts in and out of slumber, and Lena stares at the spaciousness of her yard and eventually says, "I want a gazebo."</p><p><em>I can make a gazebo,</em> Kara signs, grinning.</p><p>"Can I help with the design?"</p><p>
  <em>Whatever you want!</em>
</p><p>"It needs to be big. It might take a while."</p><p>
  <em>I've got time.</em>
</p><p>Blue eyes sparkle, the sunset casting soft shadows across Kara's face as her blonde hair glitters like gold. It's picture perfect, and Lena commits this moment to memory as her stomach flutters and her heart expands. She loves her, and if this is the only way she can express her love, that's okay. She doesn't mind. It's enough.</p><p>"Okay, Kara Danvers," she teases, holding out her hand as if it's a professional contract, and Kara puffs out a laugh and shakes it. "Let's make a gazebo."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>A gazebo is, physically, the <em>largest</em> thing Kara has ever made so far, and maybe she was a <em>little</em> out of her depth when she'd agreed to it, but the hurdles are worth it when she and Lena get to figure it out together, long mornings hunched over a blueprint and lazy afternoons slowly putting the pieces together.</p><p>If Lena turns speechless every time Kara hauls a massive plank of wood across the yard on her shoulder, well, that's just a bonus.</p><p>They're halfway through with the construction of the gazebo when Sam calls one day, Lena excusing herself and slipping back inside the house on the assumption that it's work related.</p><p>"Why do you always think it's L-Corp related?"</p><p>"Because L-Corp is the bane of my existence?" Lena deadpans, a hand on her hip. Despite all the good she'd done before finally leaving National City, most of the world still viewed the company as Luthor Corp, and she's resigned herself to the fact that it will never fully shake off that dark mantle. "Has Lillian done something?"</p><p>"No, nothing like that. I think she's finally gotten the hint after that last lawsuit you filed against her," Sam chuckles. "I was actually calling to see if you wanted visitors! Ruby misses you, and Jack's happy to handle everything here for a weekend. Plus, I want to meet <em>Kara."</em></p><p>"Oh," Lena breathes out a laugh, turning to check on said blonde. Kara is busy hammering a railing to one of the gazebo's support beams, biceps on full display as she'd stripped down to just her tank top and jeans after working up a sweat. It's <em>distracting,</em> and she stares for a moment too long until Sam clears her throat impatiently. "Of course you can visit. Whenever you'd like. I'll text you my address, just let me know when you're coming down."</p><p>"I want to meet Kara. And the rest of your new friends. Ooh, can we make it a party? Please make it a party."</p><p>Lena sighs. She's happy to have most of the others over, but she knows that'll include James, and Kara still hasn't really spoken to him since that day at the fair, mostly because he's not made any efforts to apologize.</p><p>"I'll think about it."</p><p>"Okay. How about this coming weekend? Ruby and I will drive down on Friday and leave on Sunday?"</p><p>"Alright, Arias," she concedes, smiling when Kara glances over and grins cheerfully at her through the floor-to-ceiling windows. "I'll see you on Friday."</p><p>"Uh huh, don't let me keep you from your hunky girlfriend," Sam teases, hanging up. Snorting softly at her pest of a friend, Lena shakes her head and heads back outside after retrieving a cold bottled water from the fridge, holding it out as she approaches the half built gazebo.</p><p>"Stop working so hard," she teases, subconsciously licking her lips as Kara takes a big gulp from the bottle and a drop of condensation rolls down her chin and neck. It's criminal, really.</p><p><em>Can't help it, my boss is a real slave driver.</em> Kara winks, pretending to swing a whip. Lena smirks, keeping her less than appropriate thoughts to herself.</p><p>"So, my friend Sam and her daughter want to visit this weekend," she ventures instead, arms crossed as she leans against a finished beam. Kara swipes the back of her hand across her mouth and blinks.</p><p>
  <em>Oh! Okay. We can just take the weekend off then, I'll come back on Monday?</em>
</p><p>"Actually, she wants to meet you. She wants to meet the group. Suggested perhaps hosting a party here?"</p><p>Kara's eyebrows lift in surprise, her fingers fiddling with the label on her bottled water for a moment. Then, <em>I'd love to meet your friends. I'll pass the message on to the others, too.</em></p><p>"Great. Let's say Saturday evening? Dinner and drinks?" She's not used to hosting things like this. Galas and big events, sure, but an honest to god gathering between friends? Way out of a Luthor's skill set, unfortunately. Kara hears the uncertainty in her voice and hops down from the gazebo with a reassuring smile.</p><p>
  <em>Hey, it'll be great. I'll bring Eliza's famous bacon and cheese mashed potatoes. I'll bring Krypto!</em>
</p><p>Lena chuckles, warming. Krypto always makes everything better. Kara's discovered that she can convince Lena to agree to just about anything as long as the Great Pyrenees is somehow involved.</p><p>"You're right. It'll be great."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>And it <em>is</em> great, much to their surprise. Lena gets the full tourist experience with Sam and Ruby on Friday, exploring Midvale and picking a different restaurant for every meal and even shopping in all the little local boutiques. Kara comes over earlier on Saturday to help prepare, hauling in extra tables and chairs to account for all the guests and blushing good naturedly when Sam pretends to swoon over her big strong arms. Ruby and Krypto are instant friends, and when everyone else arrives, drinks and conversation flow easily. Even James seems to be back to his friendly and social self, acting as if the fight at the fair had never happened.</p><p><em>He still hasn't apologized?</em> Lena signs discreetly, annoyed. But Kara just smiles and shakes her head, bumping their shoulders together as they watch the room socialize.</p><p>
  <em>It's fine. At least things are back to normal. It's easier this way.</em>
</p><p>Lena understands now what Winn had meant, how Kara just accepts this because it's easier for everyone, even though it's unfair to her. And she hates it, hates that James won't own up to his issues and give Kara the apology she deserves.</p><p>She hates him even more when he clears his throat and makes an announcement while they're all lounging around having drinks after dinner.</p><p>"I'm moving to Metropolis," he says, which is apparently a surprise to everyone in the room, including his own sister.</p><p>"What? Since when?" Kelly asks, furrowing her brow. Next to Lena, Kara has gone very still, her face unreadable as she clutches her glass of cider.</p><p>"I've decided it's time for me to pursue my dreams of working at the Daily Planet," he says with a casual shrug. "It's not like there's really anything keeping me here, anyway. So I figured why not take the leap?"</p><p>There's a disjointed smattering of halfhearted congratulations and bemused questions. Winn manages to seem excited for his roommate, even. But Alex just stares, quietly angry at the obvious dig at Kara, and even a little mad for Lena. Lena, however, couldn't care less, her attention solely focused on Kara when the blonde silently excuses herself and makes a halfhearted gesture about the bathroom before disappearing down the hall.</p><p>It's immature and childish and so <em>stupid,</em> and Lena is glad James is leaving, because Kara is the sun and he doesn't deserve to bask in her orbit.</p><p>Tuning out the room's conversation, Lena absently pets Krypto's fur, waiting and keeping an eye out for Kara's return. When five, and then ten minutes pass, she excuses herself and goes off in search of Kara. The bathroom is unoccupied, so she continues further down and peeks her head into her own bedroom, squinting in the dark for a moment before finally picking out Kara's hunched form on the bed.</p><p>"Oh, sweetheart," Lena murmurs, stepping inside and closing the door. She wonders if Kara even wants company right now, but when she hears a soft, wet sniffling sound, she immediately crawls onto the bed and pulls the other woman into her arms. "I'm sorry."</p><p>She thought Kara would have been relieved. From all of their conversations, it had sounded like Kara was growing tired of dealing with James' attitude, so it didn't make sense to Lena why she'd be hiding in here and crying in the dark. Still, she knows not to push, knows to let Kara move at her own pace, so they just sit curled together, Kara crying quietly against her shoulder as Lena strokes her hair.</p><p>Eventually, with shaking hands, Kara starts to sign, her head lowered and her reddened eyes downcast, unable to look Lena in the eyes.</p><p>
  <em>I'm the reason my parents got in a car crash. I was loud and wouldn't stop talking. I distracted them. They didn't see the deer. They died when we fell down the ravine. It was my fault.</em>
</p><p>Her chin drops to her chest with another sob, this one audible, a sharp, gasping inhale of air within rattling lungs. Her entire body trembles, and Lena feels her own heart breaking as she pulls Kara into her arms, tears springing to her eyes at the way Kara crumbles against her.</p><p>"No, Kara, no," she whispers, squeezing her as tightly as she dares, because it feels like Kara might just fall apart completely at the seams if she lets go. "That is <em>not</em> your fault. You are not to blame."</p><p>A few words won't fix this, Lena knows. This is a wound, a trauma so deep that she hopes she can convince Kara to speak to someone professionally one day. But for now, and for as long as Kara lets her, Lena will hold her and comfort her however she can.</p><p>Kara eventually grows heavy with exhaustion, slumped weakly against Lena, and so the brunette carefully lays them down and pulls her mother's quilt over them, coaxing Kara to relax until the blonde's head finally rests on her shoulder and their limbs are wrapped firmly around each other.</p><p><em>James has not been a good friend to me,</em> Kara signs slowly, her swollen eyes wet with more tears. <em>But it still hurts to lose the few people I have.</em></p><p>It's not fair that he can still hurt her like this. It's not fair that he <em>matters</em> when he doesn't even deserve it, not when Lena is right here, so full of love and so willing to give Kara every last drop of it without needing anything in return.</p><p>"I'm here, Kara. I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere, I promise," Lena whispers fiercely, pressing a kiss into blonde hair. Kara trembles, curling into her embrace with a wet sniffle, and nods against Lena's sternum, her fingers tightening in the brunette's sweater as if afraid to let her go.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Lena wakes with a sharp crick in her neck and a deep ache in her back and shoulders from the awful position she'd fallen asleep in, but Kara is still wrapped up in her arms, snoring softly against her chest, and she decides any amount of discomfort is worth it to wake with Kara like this.</p><p>The blonde looks so much younger in sleep, her lashes fluttering and her lips resting in a natural pout. A few strands of hair have fallen over her cheek, and Lena very gently brushes them back with her fingertips, marveling at the soft dusting of freckles across Kara's nose and cheeks, visible only up close.</p><p>"Kara," she whispers, one hand rubbing up and down the other woman's back in a light, soothing gesture. "Kara, it's time to wake up."</p><p>Lashes fluttering, the blonde inhales deeply, burying her face against Lena's sternum as her back and legs stretch out along the bed, muscles tensing and twitching with a full stretch before slumping back down into a relaxed state. She hums softly, a warm little sound against the cashmere of Lena's sweater, still sleepy and unaware. Lena can't stop the grin of affection stretching across her lips as she hugs the other woman a little firmer.</p><p>"Kara, honey, it's morning."</p><p>The blonde does wake then, eyes blinking open first before she lifts her head and gawks at Lena, her entire face turning red when she realizes they'd fallen asleep like this. Scrambling to sit up, she gestures rapidly, managing to get through three different ways of saying sorry before Lena catches one of her hands and clasps it warmly between hers.</p><p>"How would you like to make pancakes together?" she says simply, smiling. Still blushing, Kara stares down at their clasped hands in a daze, startled only by the loud growl emanating from her stomach.</p><p>"I'll take that as a yes," Lena chuckles, eyes crinkling at the corners as she beams. Kara hunches her shoulders in embarrassment and signs with her free hand, <em>Good morning.</em></p><p>"Good morning." Leaning forward, Lena kisses Kara's cheek without thought, then hops off the bed and stretches, fluffing out her flattened hair as she pads towards the bathroom. "Come on, I've got a spare toothbrush for you."</p><p>In something of a dreamy daze, Kara shyly trails Lena into the bathroom, the two of them brushing their teeth side by side and exchanging soft, affectionate glances. Their entire relationship feels different and yet not so different somehow, like they've safely crossed the final line and now all that's left is comfort and companionship, and though neither are entirely sure where this is going, it also feels inevitable.</p><p><em>Thank you, for being with me last night,</em> Kara signs, her expression soft as she pauses in the doorway, watching Lena throw her hair up into a messy ponytail. Taking Kara's hands, Lena tangles their fingers together and squeezes.</p><p>"I will always be here for you, Kara. Always."</p><p>Kara leans forward, eyes fluttering shut as she rests their foreheads together. She's content to stay like that, too, basking in the love that emanates from her best friend, but her stomach gives an ungodly growl and Lena promptly pulls back with a giggle.</p><p>"Come on, let's feed the beast," Lena teases, grabbing her hand and tugging her out to the living room. She'd been wary about what state her cabin might have been left in last night, but to her relief, all the leftover food and drinks have been neatly put away, the dishes stacked in the dishwasher, and all garbage disposed of. Sam, Ruby, and Krypto are sprawled out on the giant U-shaped couch, all snoring softly, and she feels just a little bit guilty when she nudges Sam awake.</p><p>"Mph. Hmm? Oh. Hi. Morning." Sam groans, tossing a hand over her eyes for a moment when she realizes how bright the room is. The downside to big floor-to-ceiling windows.</p><p>"Morning, Sam. I'm sorry we disappeared. What happened last night?"</p><p>"Came to check on you two when you didn't come back, found you both asleep, so I kicked everyone out and cleaned up." Sam shrugs, smiling good naturedly as she sits up and scrubs the sleep from her eyes. "All good?" she adds, watching the way Kara hovers next to Lena. The warm glow on Lena's face is all the answer she needs.</p><p>"Morning, aunt Lena," Ruby grumbles, her voice muffled against the couch. The adults chuckle, watching as Krypto wakes and promptly licks the pre-teen until she's giggling.</p><p>"Get up and help your aunt Lena with some pancakes, huh?" Sam says, smirking. That gets the growing child going, hopping up from the couch and hurrying towards the kitchen with Lena on her heels. Sam stands and touches Kara's shoulder, stopping her for a moment as startled blue eyes meet hers. "She's my best friend. You treat her right, you hear me, Danvers?"</p><p>Kara smiles and nods, placing a hand flat over her heart. Sam gets the gist of it and grins.</p><p>"Good. Welcome to the family."</p><p>There's an easy familiarity in the way they move around each other that morning, laughing and chatting as they make pancakes from scratch. Kara teaches Ruby a little bit of ASL while Lena makes up a giant stack of pancakes and Sam not-so-secretly sneaks pieces of pancake to Krypto. They eat together, and then lounge about sipping coffee while watching Ruby play with Krypto for a few hours. Noon rolls around and their goodbyes are full of hugs and promises to see each other soon, and then Sam and Ruby are driving off down the road, Lena and Kara standing in the front door and waving them off.</p><p><em>I like them,</em> Kara signs, smiling. Lena just holds out her hand, warm and happy and so <em>soft,</em> and Kara tangles their fingers together and happily follows her back inside the cabin.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The gazebo doesn't take much longer to finish after that. The lacquer dries and the beautiful birch structure looks bright and welcoming in the yard, contrasting nicely with the rich greens and browns of the woods around them. They celebrate with champagne and good food that very night, no longer worried about what they'll do next now that their pet project is complete, and Kara surprises her the next night by finally dragging her outside after having made Lena hang out in her bedroom for a solid twenty minutes just so she could set things up.</p><p>"What are you up to, Kara Danvers?" Lena laughs, breathless and happy as Kara all but runs them across the yard to the gazebo. It's lit up in the night now, fairy lights dangling around the entire structure and wrapped around the railings, but it's the bench placed in the center of the gazebo that takes Lena's breath away. "Kara...?"</p><p><em>Surprise,</em> Kara signs, smiling warmly, blue eyes crinkled as she gently tugs Lena closer. <em>This is for you.</em></p><p>It's a dark red mahogany bench made for two, with an engraved backing and armrests, something Kara has been secretly working on for nearly three weeks. Up close, delicate Celtic knots have been carved into the glossy wood, reminiscent of the Celtic design seen on Aoife's old dresser. It's <em>beautiful,</em> and it means so much to the both of them, and Lena feels herself tearing up as she turns and melds into Kara's waiting arms with a shaky exhale of air.</p><p>"Oh, Kara, it's perfect," she whispers. She feels a feather light kiss touch her hair and wonders if this is what happiness feels like. </p><p>Lena retrieves her mother's quilt, and Kara brings out a hot mug of cocoa to share, and they sit curled together on their bench, content to just listen to the wildlife around them as the night grows long and their eyes turn sleepy. As they reach the dregs of their mug and the air gets too nippy, Lena stands with a yawn, folding Aoife's quilt over her arm and turning for the house, knowing Kara will always be following just a step behind.</p><p>Except this time, she doesn't.</p><p>"Lena?"</p><p>It's quiet. A whisper. Barely there at all. But Lena stops anyway, heart quivering as she turns around, wide green eyes finding Kara's soft gaze and even softer smile. It's the first thing Kara has said in more than ten years, and Lena feels her eyes well up with tears, in awe that it's her name. She'd never imagined she would get to hear it.</p><p>Kara holds out her hand, smiling shyly. Lena takes it and is pulled back into the middle of the gazebo, her arms curling around Kara's shoulders as Kara's arms circle her waist. No more words are spoken; just the softness of lips against lips as they finally kiss.</p><p>This, <em>this</em> is what happiness feels like.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>L.L.: </strong>I'm gonna marry her</p><p><strong>SamArias:</strong> fuckin FINALLY</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She's woken by a body stretching out against her back, followed by a tiny little squeak and then a sigh of contentment as said body slumps back down. It's how Kara always wakes, like a gangly puppy barely waking and then deciding to just go back to sleep, and it never fails to make Lena smile even two years into their marriage.</p><p>"Good morning, darling," she murmurs, still sleepy and limp, blinking up at her bedside table where the clock sits nestled up against a worn Stitch plushie. Kara's right hand curls into the "I love you" slang sign and presses gently against the bare skin of Lena's chest, her lips touching Lena's neck as she nuzzles into dark hair with a soft hum. They would be perfectly content going back to sleep for another few hours, but a moment later and a solid weight pounces on top of them, getting a grunt out of Kara as their doberman puppy starts licking enthusiastically at Lena's face.</p><p>"Oh! No, Eve!" Lena laughs, trying to shield her face from the puppy's slobbering tongue. "Go kiss your Mama instead and let Mommy sleep!"</p><p>Eve turns and starts licking Kara, and the blonde just whines pitifully as she's assaulted, scrunching her eyes shut to avoid puppy tongue on her eyeballs. Eventually the baby doberman stops, turning to sniff and nudge her nose against Lena's shoulder, demanding attention and food. Sighing fondly, Lena gets out of bed, pulling on an oversized T-shirt before clapping her hands for the pup to follow.</p><p>"Come on, baby, let your Mama wake up properly," she teases, winking at her wife before heading out to the kitchen, the doberman sliding along at her heels like Bambi on ice. The short hall between bedroom and main room is full of photos now, a little blonde and brunette with missing teeth and chocolate stained mouths, their older counterparts recreating the same photo, as well as every picture of Aoife and Alura they had, each lovingly framed. She slows to smile at them before padding into the kitchen, running a hand through her disheveled hair. Lena turns the coffee machine on and scoops up a breakfast portion of kibble for Eve, shaking the bowl enticingly. When she turns around, however, Eve has already found distraction elsewhere, climbing on top of the giant white Pyrenees on the couch and tugging on his ears with her sharp little puppy teeth. Krypto's eyes flicker to Lena, exasperated, like an exhausted older brother being harassed by a young sibling, and Lena snaps a photo on her phone and laughs.</p><p>"You're the one who lets her walk all over you," she says in defence when he squints his eyes. Shaking her head, she doles out a larger portion into a bigger bowl and sets both down on the kitchen tile with a loud click of her tongue. "Come here, my loves."</p><p>Standing abruptly enough to send Eve tumbling to the floor, Krypto trots over and gives Lena an appreciative lick before digging into his breakfast. Eve skitters over immediately after, nearly knocking her bowl over in her excitement as her tail smacks Krypto's arm repeatedly.</p><p>They're both endearing little gremlins that she considers her children, and as she looks up and sees Kara shuffling sleepily towards her in mismatched boxers and a sweatshirt, she wonders how she ever got so lucky.</p><p>"What do you say to waffles this morning, hmm?" she ventures, smiling at the dopey nod she's given as Kara rubs her eyes and yawns. Turning, she gets started on breakfast, pausing to enjoy the moment when Kara hugs her from behind and very quietly rasps in her ear,</p><p>"Love you."</p><p>"I love you too," Lena murmurs, heart fluttering every time she's treated to the rare sound of Kara's voice. Her wife is still working on her trauma, seeing Kelly on a regular basis and sometimes asking Lena to join. It's a long journey, but she tries her best every day, and Lena couldn't be more proud. She still remembers the day Alex had called her in tears, sobbing about how Kara had said her name for the first time in eleven years, and it makes every single one of the hard moments worth it.</p><p>Later, after breakfast, Kara lets the dogs out and sits on their bench under the gazebo, breathing in the crisp morning air and watching in amusement as Eve chases an unwilling Krypto around the yard. Wrapped up in Aoife's quilt, Lena wanders out to join her, curling up against her wife's side and tucking her head in under Kara's chin with a happy sigh.</p><p>"Can you hum to me?" Lena murmurs, soft, so <em> soft. </em> </p><p>Kara smiles, warm and happy, and starts to hum a melodic, wordless song.</p>
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  <b class="heading">Works inspired by this one:</b>
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        <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27064567">POSTER - "A wordless song"</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/mizhuin/pseuds/mizhuin">mizhuin</a>
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    <li>
        <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27216370">A Wordless Song (Art)</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lesbionest/pseuds/Lesbionest">Lesbionest</a>
    </li>
  </ul>
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